Dear Mum.

Having recently spotted the first daffodils of the season, it’s a reminder to many that a particular occasion is approaching - Mother’s Day.

One of the only days in which our beloved mothers relax whilst we, the children, take over their daily chores and pamper them with delicious meals, starting with breakfast in bed served with a freshly picked bunch of daffodils.

As a child, it was an opportunity to show off a ‘creative side’ with homemade cards and edible gifts. 

I would like to thank my Mother here, for keeping up the pretense that my artistic skills were so good; I could have potentially become the next Van Gogh. 

Having recently discovered some of these cards though, I’ve realised to my dismay, that you aren’t just an excellent Mother, but a talented actress also.

Mother’s Day for me, has become more of a test on whether I‘ve accomplished the art of domestic competence, if my Mother has succeeded in teaching me the skills of cleaning, cooking and ironing. 

Unfortunately in this case, cooking has been the only triumph and the one I am going to place emphasis on here.

Stuffed Leg of Lamb

This is a straightforward dish to put together, placing emphasis on creativity to produce showstopper results that will make any mother proud.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1.5kg leg of lamb, deboned

1 bulb of garlic

1 large onion, peeled and chopped into quarters

Olive oil

3 bay leaves

5 sprigs of rosemary

Cook’s Note ~ ask your butcher for a piece of string for tying and to demonstrate how to tie the meat up once it’s been stuffed

For the stuffing (makes enough for additional stuffing balls)

150g dried apricots, finely chopped

150g dried prunes, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

200g breadcrumbs

2 oranges, zest and juice

1tbsp olive oil

1 egg, beaten

Salt & pepper

200g pork sausage meat (to make extra stuffing balls)

For delicious gravy:

1tbsp plain flour

1pint lamb stock

200ml red wine

2tbsp redcurrant jelly

Salt & Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200’C

To make the stuffing, mix together the apricots, prunes, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, olive oil and the orange juice and zest in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beaten egg and combine all the ingredients together.

Lay the lamb out onto a board, skin side facing down. Rub the meat with olive oil and season.

Place half of the stuffing in the middle of the lamb, and then roll it up and tie using the string the butcher provided.

To prepare the lamb for roasting, rub the meat with olive oil. Slice 2 garlic cloves lengthways and chop 2 sprigs of rosemary into inch-sized pieces. Using a sharp knife, carefully make several incisions in the skin of the meat. Insert either a piece of garlic or rosemary into each incision. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the remaining garlic and rosemary into a roasting tin with the bay leaves and onion and position the lamb on top. 

Roast in the oven an 1½ hour for medium; slightly less if you prefer your lamb pink. Rest the meat for 10 minutes before carving.

Add the sausage meat to the remainder of the stuffing and roll into small balls. Bake on a greased baking tray for 30 minutes until crisp and golden.

To make the gravy, add the flour to the roasting tray, stirring to let it absorb all the juices to form a paste. Turn the heat up to medium and gradually add the stock and wine, making sure you whisk constantly – you don’t want to serve your mother lumpy gravy!

Bring to the boil and then reduce to a medium heat, simmering for 10 minutes until it thickens.

Add the redcurrant jelly and season to taste.

Strain through a sieve and drizzle over the lamb. Serve with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.