Well rested

You may remember, about a week ago, I’d wanted the mint from our garden to go with our lamb dinner. We’d bought a leg of lamb from the butcher, and asked him to bone it and butterfly it for us. I’d never tried this method, or indeed this recipe before, but it used goats cheese, which was exciting because I could use a local product which would add another element to the dish, and a creamy texture to the meat.

I wanted to get it prepared early, so that when we came back on the Saturday afternoon all I needed to do was pop it in the oven to cook.

So here’s the recipe:

First we seasoned the inside thoroughly, and drizzled with a good glug of olive oil. Brian then laid out the mint leaves, covering the whole of the inside. He then grated a piece of local goats cheese over the mint, we chose a medium dry cheese that grated easily. A little bit more seasoning, then he rolled it up, tucking in the edges to give us a neat rolled joint to tie up with string. We tied it around the middle, then from front to back. A tidy little parcel.

Before roasting, we drizzled over a good quantity of olive oil – this helps stop the string from burning – and then seasoned it well. It was cooked at 180°c for 45 mins, and checked with our meat thermometer, to ensure it had reached 170°c inside. We then rested it well before carving.

It was rather scrumptious, and I would definitely cook this again.