Roasted Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Mint
On Saturday, when I came home after a long day of work, I was greeted with the aromas of a holiday roast in the oven and my girlfriend who had been slaving in the kitchen all day. The house smelled amazing and I was anxious to see what she had in store for me so I asked her to open the oven. To my surprise, she removed a giant roasting pan holding a perfectly browned leg of lamb the size of a football! My first reaction was “how many people are coming over to eat this beast?”, followed by uncontrollable drooling. I love surprises and I love surprises even more when they’re stuffed with goat cheese! She had gone to the butcher and had them de-bone and butterfly an entire leg of lamb.
Butterflying is a butchering technique that transforms thick, compact pieces of meat into thinner, larger ones with more surface area. It gets its name because the “unfolding” or the meat resembles the wings of a butterfly. She ended up at home with a piece of meat the size of a place mat and a roll of butchers twine; the next part I am glad I wasn’t around for because assembling and tying roasts is not my specialty.
She made a creamy goat cheese stuffing with apples, toasted pine nuts, and fresh mint that was to die for. Every component of the stuffing added another element to the dish; the nutty flavors from the pine nuts were great with the crisp and refreshing apples, and the fresh mint complimented the tangy goat cheese. Mint is one of those herbs that just elevates the flavor of lamb, and really brings out its natural gaminess. My grandmother still loves to eat her lamb chops with mint jelly (a classic condiment served with lamb) but I’m glad my girlfriend chose to put fresh mint in the stuffing rather than serve me something out of a Ghostbusters movie. She loaded the filling into the center of the lamb and rolled it up, tying it as she went along.
I have no idea how she did this part all by herself but somehow she managed to make it look absolutely beautiful; I’ll admit, I am a little frightened at how good she is at tying things up. She slowly roasted it in a 300 degree oven for almost two hours, and I had walked in just at the right time. Due to the fact that this leg of lamb (looks more like a leg of a linebacker) was stuffed with cheese, it was even more crucial to let it rest on the cutting board.
The internal temperature was hovering right around 140 degrees which indicates medium rare… just the way I like it. We sliced the roast and the cross section was picturesque; pink, tender and juicy meat surrounding a wallop of creamy stuffing. I inhaled about three slabs and some roasted potatoes before I started getting drowsy. I had to bring out a special bottle to serve with this masterpiece so I grabbed a 2006 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape. Chateauneuf du Pape translates to “New Castle of the Pope”, and is a village in the Southern Rhone Valley France.
This wine growing region produces the best of the best from the Rhone Valley and uses primarily the Grenache grape although others such as Syrah and Mouvedre can be blended in as well. This wine is medium bodied and has aromas of sage, cedar, and dark plum. The texture of every sip is elegant and seductive with tons of peppery raspberry flavors.
Rhone Valley wines, especially Chateuneuf du Pape are classic pairings for lamb dishes because even the wines have a slight gaminess to them. The mind-blowingly tender lamb was perfectly cooked and I could have eaten the filling with a spoon. The wine was a treat and the entire evening was exquisite thanks to the Rooftop Gourmette; no question about it, it was my turn to clean up.
