A seasonal feast of spring lamb

Roasted stuffed leg of lamb (with feta cheese & peppers)

Stuffing the butterflied leg of lamb with layers of peppers and cheese is easy to do, and when the final dish is sliced, the spiraling design makes the meat and stuffing as beautiful as it is delicious. Photo provided to China Daily

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb, boned and butterflied (1.5 kg)

3 tbsp olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

2 tsp crushed Greek oregano (rigani)

1 green or yellow bell pepper (stems and seeds removed), sliced in thin rings

2 red bell peppers (stems and seeds removed), sliced in thin rings

250 g feta cheese, crumbled

100 g aged anthotyro or manouri cheese, grated (or ricotta cheese or other low-salt hard grating cheese)

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

3 1/2 ounces water－1 3/4 cups water

1 teacup white wine

Extra olive oil for baking

Also needed: Butcher's string or netting

Directions

Lay the lamb leg out on a clean work surface. Place the boned side of the roast up. With a sharp paring knife, cut away any excess fatty areas. Cut 1/2-inch-deep slits in the meat about 2 inches apart, to help the meat lie flat.

With hands, coat both sides of the meat with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and oregano. Rub all over leg of lamb. Distribute the garlic over the meat and spread with mustard.

Preheat oven to 250 C.

Place the lamb fat side down. Distribute the filling evenly across the meat, leaving a clean edge around all sides of about 1 inch. Sprinkle with parsley and start with the peppers, then the crumbled feta, and end with the grated cheese.

Fold the meat back together into its original shape and tie with butcher's string at 1-inch intervals. If you use netting, enclose the roll. It's OK if a little stuffing protrudes from the sides of the roast. Sprinkle the outside of the roast with salt and pepper. Place lamb leg in a roasting pan, fat side up. Pour with the wine, a little extra olive oil and water, and bake.

Roast at 250 C for 20 minutes. Turn the roll over and cook another 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 C. After 40 minutes, turn the roll over again (fat side up), add more water if needed, and continue to cook for about 40 minutes longer. (Total cooking time: approximately 2 hours)

Remove the roast from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before removing the strings and slicing crosswise. The slices may partially fall apart so handle them gently. Reassemble them as best you can on the plate. Serve with red pepper sauce.

Tip: The roast can even be wrapped very tightly in a sheet of aluminum foil; be careful not to gather the foil into the meat.

Red-pepper sauce: Beat in blender two roasted and peeled red peppers with 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp dried basil, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Optional: Peel and cut a few potatoes into rough wedges, toss with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and throw in the roasting pan.

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