Recipe: Stuffed Saddle of Lamb

I've not been cooking much recently, and any cooking I've done has tended not to be very photogenic. I have, however, been slightly hooked on watching Gordon Ramsay's programmes, and decided to try one of his recipes, which you can find on Youtube (demonstrated by Ramsay himself) here.



As first-time recipes always go wrong, I thought I'd take photos of the cooking process some other time, but surprisingly enough for once the recipe turned out perfectly the first time round.

Stuffed Saddle of Lamb

Feeds 6 - 8

1 saddle of lamb, boned (1.8kg will comfortably feed 6)
200g spinach
250g mushrooms (shiitake or oyster), quartered
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 egg yolk
Fresh sage
2 bulbs of garlic
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and pepper
Butcher's twine

1. Trim as much fat from the saddle of lamb as possible, especially from the two flaps of skin. This prevents the lamb from swelling excessively during cooking and unwrapping itself, which creates a mess.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan, and sweat the mushrooms (with salt and pepper) over moderate heat till the mushrooms start rendering their juices.

3. Drain the mushrooms in a colander.

4. Heat some olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in the same pan, and wilt all the spinach, placing them in the same colander.

5. Fold the mascarpone cheese into the spinach and mushrooms, and add the egg yolk, combining all the ingredients till they've formed a cohesive mass, then refrigerate while you prepare the lamb.

6. Halve the garlic bulbs crosswise, and salt and pepper them. This causes them to exude fluids with which you can season your lamb.

7. Lay the lamb skin side down, and rub it all over with the garlic. Line the centre of the lamb (the cavity between the two loins) with sage leaves.

8. Place your stuffing, which by now should have the consistency of soft butter, in the same cavity, packing it together neatly.

9. Pull one of the flaps of skin up and over the stuffing, to meet the other side, making sure it's pulled fairly tight, and fold the other flap over, creating a nicely wrapped roll of lamb.

10. Turn the lamb over (so that it doesn't start unwrapping itself) and stick two sage leaves against the ends of the saddle, which prevents any stuffing from coming out. Tie the saddle with the twine, and season with salt and pepper.

11. Preheat the oven to 200C.

12. Heat some olive oil in a hot pan, and fry the garlic bulbs and sage leaves. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and brown the lamb all over.

13. Transfer the lamb to a baking tray (unless your pan is oven-proof), and roast for an hour.



14. After an hour, remove the lamb and rest for 10 to 15 minutes, before slicing the lamb into steaks of desired thickness. Serve with your choice of sauce and side-dishes.