Slow Roast Saddle of Organic Glenarm Spring Lamb with baby carrots, carrot puree and roast potatoes

This dish is definitely for the more confident cook, I will not tell a lie, there is a certain amount of skill level needed to produce perfect results from this dish. But with that said it is well worth the effort and time. This is probably my favourite way to eat lamb (and I am a big fan of our local lamb), the slow rendering of the fat from the lamb soaks into the meat and adds so much flavour.

All of the lamb that I use is reared organically on Glenarm estate, it feeds of the organic clover around the estate and it is this clover and the method of farming that has helped the lamb to develop a fantastic superior flavour.

Serves 6

For the stuffing; 

        

1tblsp butter                                                                                                  

4 shallots finely diced                                                                                                                

4 cloves garlic crushed                                              

1kg mixed wild mushrooms washed until mushroom are clean      

1kg spinach stalks washed and removed      

Maldon salt and ground black pepper

For the lamb saddle;

1 saddle of lamb removed from the bone and fillets removed and reserved                        

Maldon salt and ground black pepper                                                                                                                           

To Serve;

New season baby carrots

Carrot puree

Roast new potatoes

Rosemary gravy

Method;

Place a large pan over medium heat and add the butter, when the butter starts to foam add the shallots and the garlic. Cook for 5mins until the shallots are translucent but without colour. Add the mushrooms and stir well cook for a further 5mins, the mushrooms will start to release all of their liquid continue to cook until all of the mushrooms liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms start to brown, add the spinach and cook until the spinach has completely wilted, season to taste. Remove from the heat and place the mixture into a colander. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid from the mixture and then ring out in a clean tea towel until completely dry.

Lay the lamb saddle skin side down onto a bench and season all over with Maldon salt and ground black pepper. Place the mushroom mixture down the centre of the lamb. Place the fillets on top of the stuffing and roll the lamb to surround the fillets and the stuffing. Roll very tightly in cling film and place in the fridge, allow to set in the fridge for 2-3hours. This will give the meat time to set and help the lamb to stay secure when served.

Pre heat the oven to 180c.Remove the lamb from the fridge and tie very tightly with butchers twine making sure that the roll is tight and the filling is well secured. Place a little oil into a large pan and heat over low-medium heat place the lamb saddle into the pan and cook very slowly turning every 2-3mins to colour the fat of the lamb to an even lightly browned colour. This process starts to render a lot of the fat from around the lamb whilst basting the inside.  After the lamb has been well rendered and the skin is evenly browned remove from the pan and wrap very tightly in tin foil. Roast in the pre heated oven with a probe inserted into the meat until the core temperature reaches 43c, remove from the oven and rest in a warm place.

To serve;

Remove the foil from the and place the lamb back into a very hot oven for 5-6mins, this well crisp the skin and warm the lamb through. Slice the lamb into 6 even slices; place a slice of lamb on each plate. Serve with the potatoes, carrots and carrot puree, pour over the sauce and serve at once.