Apricot and pine nut lamb mini roast
Serves 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 – 1 1/4 hours
Ingredients
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 cup (200g) dried apricots
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 25g butter, melted
- Salt and pepper
- 1 easy-carve lamb leg roast (about 1.5kg)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (Or preheat a domed BBQ to medium high heat)
2. Prepare the couscous according to the directions.
3. Roughly chop dried apricots.
4. In a non-stick fry pan over medium high heat, toast the pine nuts for 1 minute and set aside. In the same pan, place the cumin and cinnamon and dry fry for a minute or until fragrant. Set aside.
5. Add olive oil to the pan, then garlic and onion and gently saute for 3-4 minutes until soft and fragrant.
6. Place in a bowl with pine nuts, spices, couscous, apricots, parsley and butter. Taste and add salt and pepper.
7. Remove the strings from the mini roast and lay fat-side down. Cut an incision the length of the lamb. Cut a second incision in the thickest part, to maximize the area to stuff. Press the stuffing firmly in the incisions and over the surface of the lamb.
8. Re-roll the roast and truss very firmly with sturdy cooking twine.
9. Place fat-side up in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 35-40 minutes. Rest under foil for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Cook's note: Buy plump, juicy apricots such as Turkish apricots. If you only have access to the hard, very dry apricots they may need to be soaked in boiling water for a few minutes to plump up.
