Recipe - Boneless Leg Of Lamb Stuffed With Swiss Chard And Feta

1 pound Swiss chard; the stems
discarded and the leaves
chopped coarse
6 lg Garlic cloves; cut or sliced up thin
lengthwise
3 tablespoon Olive oil
One fourth pound Feta; crumbled, (about 3/4
cup)
1 8pound leg of lamb; boned,
butterflied, and trimmed
well, (4 to 5 pounds
boneless)
1 One half teaspoon Crumbled dried rosemary; or
to taste
1 Onion; cut or sliced up
1 cup Dry red wine
1 One half cup Beef broth
One half cup Water
1 tablespoon Cornstarch dissolved in 2
tablespoons cold water
Spiced quinoa timbales and
honeyglazed baby carrots;
(recipes follow) as
accompaniments

Wash the Swiss chard well, drain it, and in a heavy saucepan steam it in
the water clinging to the leaves, covered, over moderate heat for 3 to 5
minutes, or until it is wilted. Drain the chard in a colander, refresh it
under cold water, and squeeze it dry in a kitchen towel. In a skillet cook
the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until
it is pale golden and transfer it with a slotted spoon to a bowl. To the
skillet add the chard, cook it, stirring, for 1 minute, or until any excess
liquid is evaporated, and transfer it to the bowl. Let the chard mixture
cool and stir in the Feta.

Pat the lamb dry, arrange it, boned side up, on a work surface, and season
it with salt and pepper. Spread the lamb evenly with the chard mixture,
leaving a 1inch border around the edges, beginning with a short side roll
it up jellyroll fashion, and tie it tightly with kitchen string. (The
rolled and tied roast may look ungainly, but it will improve in appearance
when cooked.)

Transfer the lamb to a roasting pan and rub it all over with the remaining
1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.
Roast the lamb in the middle of a preheated 325°F. oven for 30 minutes,
scatter the onion around it in the pan, and roast the lamb for 1 to 1 1/4
hours more (a total of 20 minutes cooking time for each pound of boneless
meat), or until a meat thermometer registers 140°F. for mediumrare meat.
Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it stand for 20 minutes.

While the lamb is standing, skim the fat from the pan drippings, and set
the roasting pan over moderately high heat. Add the wine, deglaze the pan,
scraping up the brown bits, and boil the mixture until it is reduced by
half. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a saucepan, add the
broth, the remaining One half teaspoon rosemary, the water, and any juices that
have accumulated on the cutting board, and boil the mixture until it is
reduced to about 2 cups. Stir the cornstarch mixture, add it to the wine
mixture, whisking, and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes. Season the sauce
with salt and pepper and keep it warm.

Discard the strings from the lamb, arrange the lamb on a heated platter,
and surround it with the quinoa timbales and clusters of the carrots.
Strain the sauce into a heated sauceboat and serve it with the lamb,
cut or sliced up .

Posted to recipeludigest by Sandy sandysno@pctech.net on Mar 16, 1998