Kitchen therapy
Slow-roast lamb breast with oregano and feta
Slow-roast lamb breast with oregano and feta
5 HOURS 30 MINUTES | SERVES 6 | EASY
olive oil 1 tbsp, plus a drizzle
onions 2, 1 chopped, 1 sliced
garlic 3 cloves, crushed
black olives 50g, pitted and finely chopped
soft white breadcrumbs 100g
oregano a small bunch, leaves picked and chopped (keep the stalks), plus a handful for the orzo
feta 100g, crumbled, plus 50g more for the orzo
lemon 1, zested and ½ juiced
boneless lamb breast 1.5kg
ORZO
orzo 400g
vine tomatoes 4, chopped
red onion 1 small, finely chopped
sherry vinegar 2 tbsp
1 Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped onion for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Tip into a bowl and add the olives, breadcrumbs, chopped oregano leaves, feta, lemon zest and juice, and plenty of seasoning.
2 Unravel the lamb breast if prerolled, and put skin-side down on a chopping board. Spread out the filling in a thin layer all over the top of the meat. Starting from one of the shorter sides, roll up the meat along with the filling like a swiss roll. Secure with butcher’s string three or four times to hold in place. Stuff any filling that may have spilled out back into the middle of the roll.
3 Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Put the oregano stalks and sliced onion in a deep roasting tin just big enough where the meat will fit fairly snuggly. Put the lamb on the top and season well. Add enough water to cover the base of the roasting tin by about 2cm, cover with a tent of foil not touching the meat, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 4-5 hours or until the meat is tender when a knife is inserted into the middle of the roll. The meat won’t dry out so keep cooking until very tender and lots of fat has rendered out into the tin. Top up with water halfway through cooking if you need to – the bottom of the tray should be covered in liquid, but not coming too far up the meat.
4 When the meat is fall-apart tender, turn up the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6, remove the foil and roast for 20-25 minutes or until crisp-topped and golden brown. Remove the meat to a platter and rest under foil for 15 minutes. Let the lamb fat and juices settle in the roasting tray with the onions.
5 Boil the orzo in a large pan of water for 8-10 minutes or until tender, then drain. Strain lots of the fat from the lamb juices, then stir a few spoons of the stock underneath into the cooked orzo – add a small drizzle of oil if you like, as the stock will have quite a strong lamb flavour. Add the tomatoes, onions, vinegar, and more feta and oregano. Season well. Toss everything together and serve alongside the lamb carved in thick spirals.
PER SERVING 973 kcals | fat 55.7G saturates 26.3G | carbs 64G | sugars 6.8G fibre 5.6G | protein 51.2G | salt 1.4G