Today is another snowy day here in the wild wild west. As always when the weather is less than perfect I dream of warmer climates...and anywhere but here......I was dreaming of a nice roast, but, I will be eating Moussaka for days to come. Not that that is a bad thing!
When I lived at the house and had my vegetable and herb gardens I would make this rolled lamb dish. It uses sprigs of fresh thyme which are minimally available this time of the year in my neck of the woods. A pork roast would be nice prepared this way as well. You could also roast it in the barbeque using indirect heat.
It is a simple and yet flavourful dish!!
**Feta & Lemon Stuffed Lamb with Potato-Parsnip Mash**
1 (2-3/4 lb) rolled boneless leg of lamb, trimmed
1/3 cup goats milk feta cheese
2 T chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
10 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
**Mash**
5 cups cubed Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-3/4 lbs)
2 cups chopped peeled parsnip
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
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Preheat oven to 250F. To prepare lamb, unroll the roast. Combine cheese, chopped thyme, and rind; spread over roast. Drizzle with 2 tsp juice. Reroll roast; secure at 1-inch intervals with twine. Place 10 thyme sprigs in the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish; place the lamb roast over thyme sprigs in dish. Pour remaining juice and wine over roast. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Bake at 250F for 1 hour. Turn roast over, and bake an additional 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of roast registers 145F (medium-rare). Remove from oven.
Place roast on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes.Strain pan juices through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 2 T (about 5 minutes).Remove twine; cut roast into thin slices. Arrange slices on a serving platter; drizzle with reduced pan juices.
To prepare mash, cook potatoes and parsnip in boiling water 25 minutes or until very tender. Drain; place in a large bowl. Add yogurt, oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Mash with a potato masher. Serve with lamb. Garnish with thyme sprigs.
Serves 10
