Roast Leg of Lamb with an anchovy, garlic and apricot chilli stuffing, served on a mixed bed of roasted almonds, tomato, black olives, and coucous

One of my own occasional recipes. This roast leg of lamb dish comes with a slight twist. To begin, I removed the top end of the meat from the bone. This was a big leg leaving enough of a joint for the next day’s roast. (Lamb two days running!) I chopped some finely sliced garlic and chilli, placed over the flattened lamb followed by a layer of chopped apricots, with another layer of 6 anchovy fillets. I seasoned with a little pepper (no salt) then tied up with string, covering with a tablespoon of good Greek olive oil from Zanti, which I purchased on holiday from a true artisan supplier. I seasoned again with a little black pepper and popped into the oven in a tagine without the lid.

We like our lamb pink so while it was roasting on a medium heat, I sliced the peppers, tomatoes and garlic onto a roasting dish while preparing the couscous.

After about 30 minutes I checked the lamb, which was nicely sizzling filling the whole kitchen with that unmistakable smell of roasted lamb and garlic. I popped the fruit to be roasted into the oven along with a plate of almonds. I gave the almonds about 5-minutes before removing. The roasted peppers and tomatoes got 15 minutes extra before I removed them with the lamb.

A quick mix with the couscous, not forgetting the black ozone flavour of the olives, some more black pepper that all went into a mixing bowl. I drizzled a little more extra virgin olive oil in with the couscous and served. You’ll notice how I roasted the garlic.

They’re decious when popped from the little casings and mixed with the juice from the pan. The anchovy really brings out the full flavour of the meat and the sweetness of the apricot still comes through with that bite of chilli. There’s enough left for lunchtime tomorrow, so I reckon three to four meals from one huge leg joint.