Herb-Stuffed Leg of Lamb

I'm getting this roast in just in time for Easter Sunday....

If you haven't got your leg of lamb for tomorrow, you may still have time to get one if your butcher still has stock.

Ask your butcher to bone the leg of lamb for you, but the shank should be left on. This not only improves the flavour, but also makes carving much easier.

Ingredients:
50g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
the leaves form 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
the leaves from 30g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
175g fresh white bread crumbs
leg of lamb, 2.25-2.75kg, boned with shank end left intact
50g fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
15ml flour
300ml lamb or chicken stock
15ml redcurrant jelly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
preheat the oven to 190C.

To Make the Stuffing:
Melt the butter in a large frying pan and saute the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened but not coloured. Stir in the thyme leaves, parsley and breadcrumbs and season to taste.
Press the stuffing inside the boned out leg of lamb and season the joint all over.
Arrange the herbs around the outside of the lamb and then tie it up neatly with string.

To prepare and cook the lamb:
Place the lamb in a roasting pan, cover loosely with foil and roast for 2 hours. Remove the foil and baste well, then roast for another 30 minutes until just tender. If you like your lamb well done, give it another 30 minutes in the oven. To check that it is cooked to your liking, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the meat and watch the juice run out; the pinker the juice, the rarer the meat. When it is cooked to your liking, transfer the lamb to a carving platter and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

To Make the Gravy:
Place the roasting pan directly on the hob and stir the flour into the fat and juices. Cook for a minute, stirring continuously, and gradually add the stock, whisking until smooth after each addition, scraping the bottom of the roasting pan to remove any caramelized juices. Transfer to a small pan and whisk in the red currant jelly. Simmer gently until the desired consistency is achieved. Strain the gravy into a serving jug.

When the lamb has rested, carefully cut away the herbs and string, then carve into slices, holding the shank end of the bone. Serve with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips and prepared gravy.

Double Stuffed Goose

Christmas is getting nearer

and the goose is getting fat.

And it will just have to get fatter

because we are going to my mother-in-law

for Christmas Dinner

and she won't eat goose.

She used to keep them as pets

and insists they are inedible.

;-))

Love you Mom,

but I also love eating goose at Christmas......

This is a great traditional way to do goose

for the festive dinner on Christmas day.

Ingredients:
1 goose, about 5kg more or less

For the Neck-end Stuffing;
100g dried cranberries, apricots or raisins (or a mix of dried fruits of your choice)
60ml medium sherry
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 rashers of unsmoked back bacon, cut into strips
50g butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped or mashed through a garlic press
450g good sausage meat
3 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
30ml chopped fresh parsley
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped off the stems.
150g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Bum-end Stuffing:
350g shallots, thinly sliced
60g butter
15g caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
50ml fresh sage, chopped
85g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
5 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

To make the neck-end stuffing, soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter until the onion is tender and the bacon cooked.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so. Cool slightly then mix with the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough of the egg to bind.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

To make the bum-end stuffing, fry the shallots gently in the butter until golden, then add the sugar and the orange juice.

Simmer until the liquid has virtually all evaporated leaving a delicious jammy mass of shallots.

Pour boiling water over the sage, leave for one minute, then drain and squeeze dry. Add to the shallots, along with all the other ingredients.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

To prepare the goose, trim the excess fat from inside the goose. Pack the neck-end stuffing into the neck end of the goose, pressing it firmly and then tucking the flap of skin neatly down around it.

Secure firmly underneath with wooden cocktail sticks or a metal skewer.

Three-quarters fill the stomach cavity with the bum-end stuffing.

Prick the skin of the goose all over with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Lay some of the fat removed from the cavity over the thighs to keep them moist.

Cover with foil and place on a rack in the oven with a tray underneath so that you can empty out the fat regularly.

Roast a 4kg goose for three hours, a 4.5-5kg goose for three-and-a-half hours and a 5.5kg goose for four hours.

Remove the foil for 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that the skin can brown and crisp.

To test it is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer. If the juices run clear then the bird is done.

Rest for 20-30 minutes, oven turned off with the door ajar, before carving.