Recipe for A Spring Breast of Lamb Recipe with Lemon and Rosemary
A note about quantities before you start. I get the impression that each breast of lamb varies in weight and fat content which is why I have given the weight of the lamb I used here. The recipe below would feed three comfortably. The recipe makes slightly more stuffing than you need so you can buy slightly bigger pieces of lamb or another small breast without having to increase the amount of stuffing that you make.
2 boned pieces of breast of lamb (about 650g in total)
200ml White wine
Olive oil
For the stuffing
1 and half slices of wholegrain bread
2 cloves of garlic
1 large sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp dried cranberries or cherries
1 tbsp sultanas
1 lemon
To hold it all together
Kitchen string
About thirty minutes before you want to start preparing, soak the dried fruit in freshly boiled water.
When you are ready to cook, put the oven on at about 160 C, 325 F, Gas mark 3.
With a small food processor (or a lot of chopping), blitz up the garlic and breadcrumbs. Add the rosemary leaves and blitz again briefly.
Drain the dried fruit and add it to the breadcrumb mixture. Grate the zest of the lemon in and then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice from one half only. Season the stuffing with a little salt and plenty of pepper and stir.
Lay the lamb breasts out flat on a chopping board and place a good dollop of stuffing across one of the narrow ends of the meat (as much as you think you can get away with without it all falling out of the sides). Roll the meat very carefully round the stuffing and tie it securely with a couple of pieces of string.
Put a tiny bit of olive oil in a heavy oven-proof pan that has a lid. Fry the rolled up piece of lamb in the oil for about five minutes in total, until each side is lightly browned. Pour in the wine, put on the lid and transfer to a hot oven for an hour or so.