Bulgarian lamb in pastry

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Bulgarian lamb in pastry, ready for first roast

This is made by partially roasting the lamb before it is encased in the pastry and is a simple form of beef wellington made with lamb.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg boneless leg of lamb
• 40 g butter
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Garlic to taste, crushed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt
• Shortcrust pastry, made with 450 g plain flour, 250 g butter and 150-250 ml cold water, which has been allowed to rest in the fridge for an hour or two
• 1 egg, beaten

Mise en place

• Pre-heat the oven to 190° C (375° F - gas 5).

Method

1. Tie the lamb with string, make about 20 incisions in the meat and place in a roasting tin.
2. Mix together the butter, herbs, garlic and lemon juice.
3. Use this mixture to fill the incisions you have made.
4. Lightly sprinkle the lamb with salt.
5. Place in the oven and roast for about an hour.
6. Remove from the oven, increase the heat to 200° C (400° F - Gas 6)
7. Allow the lamb to cool and remove the string.
8. Roll out the pastry until it is large enough to wrap around the lamb in one piece.
9. Seal the edges with a little of the egg and trim off any excess pastry - you can use any scraps to decorate the pastry if you wish.
10. Place in a clean roasting tin and brush with the remaining egg.
11. Return to the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Chef's note

When I made this excellent dish I used 800g of butterflied lamb leg. In order to retain the butter marinade, I made a few deep cuts rather than lots of little ones. I also drained off most of the fat after the first roast. Being lazy I used a 450g ready-rolled sheet of shortcrust pastry which was fine for a small joint, it would not be large enough for a 1.5kg joint. It was superb with onion gravy and mixed vegetables.

Variations

• 1 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 4 finely chopped anchovy fillets

Serving suggestions

Serve in slices with vegetables and gravy.