Quick chipotle butterflied leg of lamb with mint sauce - banner image

Quick chipotle butterflied leg of lamb with mint sauce

Serves
Serves 4
Difficulty
Easy

Inspired by Diana Henry.

One of our favourite dishes at home is what we call ‘lamb on fire’. My husband, Fred, bones a leg of lamb and marinates it in lots of tasty things. We have a big fireplace in our flat that we can barbecue, so he fires it up and hunkers down with a beer whilst barbecuing the meat to pink perfection.

Not everyone has or wants to barbecue in their living room and Diana Henry's recipe for butterflied lamb (in her book 'A Change of Appetite') showed me that you can cook lamb like this in the oven. Doh! The timings for pink lamb couldn't be easier to remember: 15 minutes at hot temperature, 15 minutes at normal, 15 minutes to rest.

Butterflied lamb legs are available in the supermarket ready to go and with the easy chipotle marinade, you have a special meal with very little fuss. I like the cooling tangy, sweet mint sauce as a contrast to the spicy chipotle and for a special meal I would serve this lamb with a big bowl of peas, baby carrots and leeks, tossed in butter and roast potatoes.

Additional details

  • 700-800g boned leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat
  • For the chipotle marinade
  • 3 tbsp Cool Chile Chipotles in Adobo
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Sprinkling of sea salt (optional)
  • For the mint sauce
  • 15g mint leaves, picked and finely chopped
  • 1 shallot, peeled and minced
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 60ml cider vinegar
  • 60ml water

Additional details

    1. Put all of the ingredients for the chipotle marinade in a jug suitable for a stick blender and blend until smooth.
    2. Rub the marinade over the meat, wrap in cling film or put in a zip lock bag and marinate for minimum 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
    3. An hour or so before eating, make the mint sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
    4. When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the meat in a lightly oiled roasting dish, daubing the marinade all over it, and sprinkle with sea salt. Place in the hot oven for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 190°C and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover in foil and let rest for a final 15 minutes.
    5. Carve and dig in!

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