Midweek Meal: Stuffed half leg of lamb with kale and butternut squash

Help get some amazing lamb on to Scottish plates with this recipe from Scotch Lamb.

Scotch Lamb is having its moment in the sun right now as campaigns are under way to make it Scotland’s national dish.

Not only is lamb being encouraged in schools, but celebrity chef Tony Singh also released a lamb curry recipe, with an instructional cook-along video, to help get more of it on to our plates.

With this recipe we plan to do that too and show that there are many ways that we can bring it on to our plates. For more recipes, take a look at our previous Midweek Meals here.

Stuffed half leg of Scotch Lamb with kale and butternut squash

(Serves 6) 

Ingredients

For the stuffing:

• 1 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 100g sourdough breadcrumbs, or similar
• 80g stoned dates, roughly chopped
• 50g walnuts, roughly chopped
• Salt and black pepper

For the Scotch Lamb leg:

• 1kg half leg of Scotch Lamb, bone removed or butterflied – ask your butcher to bone or butterfly this for you
• 1 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil

For the butternut squash puree:

• 500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 low salt lamb stock cube
• 600ml water

To serve:

• 200g kale
• 200g tenderstem broccoli
• 1 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil

Method

1. For the stuffing, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium and fry the onions until soft and lightly coloured. Remove from the pan and cool for 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl add the breadcrumbs, dates and walnuts, add the cooled, cooked onions and mix well. Season to taste.
3. For the lamb, place the lamb on a chopping board, skin-side down. Spoon the stuffing down the centre of the lamb and fold over to encase the stuffing. Tie at 2cm intervals with butcher’s string and re-weigh the joint. Preheat the oven to 180-190C/fan 160-170C/ gas mark 4-5.
4. Transfer to a foil-lined roasting tray, drizzle with the oil, rub gently over the lamb and season. Roast in the oven for the preferred, calculated cooking time – medium: 25 minutes per 450g plus 25 mins; well done: 30 minutes per 450g plus 30 mins.
5. Remove from the oven, cover and set aside to rest.
6. For the butternut squash puree, place the butternut squash, stock cube and water in a pan and bring to the boil.
7. Simmer for 15 minutes until the squash is soft. Strain the squash, but retain the stock.
8. Place the squash in a blender and puree with a small amount of the retained stock to achieve a smooth texture.
9. While the squash is cooking, place the kale and broccoli in a bowl, drizzle with oil, season and mix gently until coated.
10. Separate on to two baking trays and roast in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until the kale is crisp and the broccoli is soft.
11. Remove and set aside.
12. Slice the lamb, divide the squash puree between warm serving plates, top with the greens and the lamb slices.
13. Finish with a drizzle of the roasting juices and serve.

Recipe courtesy of scotchkitchen.com

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