Lamb Stuffed with Olives

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16 August 2016 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: 2-4

Marjoram is not as common as rosemary, but it adds a deep savoury-ness to meats.

Ingredients

1 x 400g (14 ounce) small lamb roast cut from the leg OR 2 x 375g (13 ounce) lamb nuggets (single muscle ‘roasts’ sometimes called pan roasts) 10 olives 1Tbsp marjoram leaves, chopped 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed Flaky sea salt ¼-½ cup panko crumbs 1 Tbsp olive oil ½ cup dry white wine, or stock

Method

1 Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). If there is any silverskin (thin membrane) on the lamb, remove it as best you can by slipping a small sharp knife between the silverskin and meat, and pulling away the silverskin as you slide the knife over the meat (this makes the lamb more tender). If using lamb nuggets, slit them open to form deep cavities for the stuffing. Season the inside of the lamb with a little salt. If using a single roast, make a tunnel in the middle by forcing the end of a wooden spoon into the centre of the meat, then enlarge it with the help of a small sharp knife. Push in a little salt with the end of the wooden spoon.

Insert the end of a wooden spoon in lamb to form a tunnel.

2 Chop olives and mix with chopped marjoram and crushed garlic. Divide stuffing between lamb nuggets, then tie them neatly with string, or push stuffing into cavity in lamb roast.

Push stuffing into cavity.

3 Season outside of roasts with flaky sea salt, then coat them with panko crumbs. You will need to push the crumbs into the lamb.

4 Heat a small roasting dish or tin over medium-high heat – choose one that fits the lamb snugly – add oil, and when the oil is hot and shimmering, add lamb, rounded side down (that’s if there is a rounded side!). Cook quickly until crumbs colour, turn lamb over and transfer to oven. Cook for 15 minutes for lamb nuggets, and 20 minutes for lamb roast.

Rest lamb before slicing to ensure the juices stay in the meat and not flow out.

5 Remove lamb from oven and let it rest for about 7 minutes before slicing thinly (remove string from lamb nuggets as you go). Scoop off any fat from juices in tin, set tin over a medium heat, pour in wine, and bubble up. Transfer lamb to a heated platter or plates and pour over pan juices. Serve immediately.

Slice lamb with a long thin bladed knife.

Recipe Notes

I used a mix of Kalamata, stuffed green and Moroccan olives in the stuffing in this photo, but any type of olive, or a mixture, will do. If the olives are in brine, they must be thoroughly dried with paper towels to prevent them forming a wet mixture inside the lamb (if the stuffing is wet, the lamb will start to steam from inside). The stuffing is enough for either the single roast or the two smaller cuts of lamb.

Here’s a serving suggestion, as in the photograph: Serve the lamb with beans (use canned beans, rinsed and drained well, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice, crushed garlic and masses of fresh roughly chopped herbs), and a little blob of labna, or thick yoghurt, dusted with za’atar (spice mix), or freshly ground black pepper and crushed coriander seeds.