Butterflied lamb is a fantastic way to cook this delicious meat. Splitting the joint and ‘unrolling’ it means the meat has a fairly uniform thickness, ensuring it cooks evenly and quickly.
This recipe demonstrates the key steps of perfect butterflied lamb. We’ve chosen to cook the meat on the barbecue with a Mexican-inspired marinade, but, once you’ve mastered the butchery, you can take this any direction you like!
Serve your lamb with a chicory salad and a dressing of hot harissa mixed into cool yoghurt. It’s a surefire winner.
INGREDIENTS
1 x 2kg leg of lamb
2 dried ancho chillies
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 lemon
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 bunch of fresh oregano
4 cloves of garlic
2 fresh red chillies
SALAD
2 chicory
1 large handful of watercress
1 pomegranate
HARISSA YOGHURT DRESSING
1-2 teaspoons harissa
500g fat-free Greek yoghurt
METHOD
Soak your dried chillies in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.
Transfer the lamb to a board and allow to rest for 15 minutes while you make your salad.
Combine the chicory leaves with the watercress and pomegranate seeds in a serving bowl.
In a small bowl, stir the harissa through the yoghurt and season to taste.
Slice the lamb on the board and halve the zested lemon. Serve the lamb on the board with the salad, yoghurt dressing and lemon halves on the side.
Watch Jamie cook up a Roast leg of lamb here:
For more delicious lamb inspiration, check out our full collection of lamb recipes here.