Kale and feta stuffed roast leg of lamb

This dish tricks-up the humble roast leg of lamb by stuffing it with kale and feta. Of course, if you wanted, you could use spinach and goat’s cheese instead. Serve the lamb with the classic combo of mint peas, and some roasted potatoes — because no-one can resist those crunchy golden nuggets.

INGREDIENTS

1.5-2kg boneless leg of lamb

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

400g kale, stalks removed, leaves finely shredded

salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1kg new potatoes, peeled and cut in half

1 garlic bulb, 3 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped, the others left whole for the potatoes

250g feta cheese

3-4 rosemary sprigs, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons chilli flakes

300g peas, fresh or frozen

handful mint leaves, finely chopped

wedge lemon

METHOD

Bring the lamb to room temperature by removing it from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you wish to cook it. Heat the oil in a wok over a medium–high heat. Add the kale and stir-fry for 2 minutes, add 80 ml water, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and let it steam for 3 minutes or until wilted. Drain in a sieve then press, using the back of a wooden spoon, as much liquid out of the kale as you can and set aside.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a large saucepan, fill with enough water to cover and bring to a rolling boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and shake to scuff the edges. Tip the potatoes together with the whole garlic cloves into a large roasting tin, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the extra oil and toss well.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Meanwhile, lay the leg of lamb flat on a chopping board, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper and spread the wilted kale lengthways to cover half of the lamb on the side closest to you, leaving about 1 cm around the edge. Crumble 200 g of the feta over the top.

From the edge closest to you, roll the lamb up tightly to enclose the kale and feta, making sure the open seam on the lamb is now under the roll so it doesn’t come loose. So the filling won’t fall out when roasting, pull a long strand of kitchen twine tightly between two hands, gently slide it under the roll about 5 cm from one end, pull up and tie a knot tightly. Repeat with three more pieces of twine, evenly spaced along the lamb.

Spread the chopped garlic, rosemary and chilli flakes on a tray, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roll the meat on the tray until nicely coated in herbs and spices. Place the lamb roll on a wire rack over the potatoes in the roasting tin, roast the lamb for 1 hour and 15 minutes. For medium–rare, it should read around 60°C on a meat thermometer when inserted in the thickest part of the meat.

Remove the lamb from the oven, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil over a medium–high heat. Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked, then drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mint leaves and the remaining crumbled feta, a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and stir to mix well.

Remove the kitchen twine, carve the lamb and serve with the roasted potatoes and mint peas.

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