Roast Breast of Lamb on Spanish Beans

, from Issue #31. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Roast Breast of Lamb on Spanish Beans

Breast of lamb is an economical cut, also called lamb flap. It doesn’t have a lot of meat, but when combined with the stuffing makes a delicious meal.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless breasts of lamb, approx 500 grams each
2 tablespoons olive oil

Stuffing
2 cups packed spinach leaves
3 fresh chorizo sausages, about 200 grams, skins removed
½ cup fresh white breadcrumbs
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Spanish beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 x 400 gram tins cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 x 400 gram tin crushed Italian tomatoes
1 cup lamb or chicken stock

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

Stuffing: Put the spinach in a bowl and cover with boiling water, turning to wilt. Drain and refresh under cold water. Place in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the excess water. Chop finely and place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, combining well.

Lamb: Place the lamb skin side down on the bench and trim off any excess fat. Season and spread half the stuffing evenly over each piece of meat. Roll up from the shortest side and tie with kitchen string to secure.

Heat an ovenproof sauté pan with the olive oil and brown the lamb on all sides. Season and roast for 30 minutes.

Beans: Heat a sauté pan with the oil and cook the onion, carrot, leek, garlic, bay leaves, paprika and cumin with a good pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and stock and
bring to the boil. Season. Tip the beans into a large baking dish and place the lamb on top. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring the beans and turning the lamb once. The lamb will have been cooked for
70 minutes in total.

To serve: Remove the string from the lamb and slice 1 cm thick. Serve with the beans.