Mom's Mint Stuffing for Lamb

Myrna in London's Note:

When people talk about comfort food this recipe immediately comes to my mind. Mom prepared it about once a month when i was a kid, and i truly looked forward to this Sunday meal even now. It was only recently that i found her recipe amongst the shoeboxes of recipe clippings she had saved through her eight seven years.

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 cups

• 10 slices bread
• 1 ½ cups orange juice
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 medium apple , chopped
• ¼ cup celery , chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves , chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Cut bread into cubes and dry slowly in barely warm oven.
2. Combine all ingredients, mix well, and let stand in refrigerator for a minimum of an hour to intergrate flavours.
3. Use the mixture to stuff boned lamb shoulder OR for chops, steaks etc.
4. bake the mixture in a covered casserole dish for one hour at 325 degrees and spoon 2 tablespoons of drippings from the lamb chops over the casserole to enhance the flavour.

Reviews

[HeatherFeather]

I really enojyed this very unique stuffing recipe. It has a lovely scent while cooking and a fresh citrusy-minty flavor. I serve dit alongside Mustard Lamb Chops and it was a very nice compliment to the lamb. I will be making this again. I do recommend using a firm bread rather than ordinary sandwich bread - which can get a little too soggy in any stuffing recipe. I used a mixture of white sandwich loaf and wheat bread as that was what I had on hand - next time I will try sturdier bread, perhaps Italian or a country sourdough loaf from the bakery.

[Mille®]

Our Christmas dinner this year was comprised entirely of dished that I had never prepared, nor even eaten in a restaurant, before, and I chose this soup to try because it met those qualifications. Having never made it before, I prepared it in strict accordance with the ingredient list and preparation (that would be “fixing” to you Americans who seem to have a passion for using broken ingredients) instructions. I had never previously used apple, mint leaves, or cinnamon in any other meat stuffing that I have prepared. The mint flavour was prominent in the finished dish, as I expected and wanted it to be. The cinnamon was completely unnoticeable, and so next time I make this I might use ¾ teaspoon instead. The apple added texture and flavour that were both delightful. I baked the dish in a casserole for only 25, but that was because I subsequently used it to fill the cavity created by a 16-rib crown rack of lamb which was to be served medium rare and, therefore, was roasted at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Overall, the dish was incredibly simple and quick to prepare and given rave reviews and requests for second helpings by everyone at the dinner table.

[Bergy]

Thanks Myrna you have reminded me of my childhood - my mom stuffed lamd either with mint or with parsley. Her recipe was different than this one so of course I had to try yours - EXCELLENT - I did "Aromatic Leg of Lamb " and served this recipe along side. The flavor and aroma are wonderful, very nice melding of flavors, nothing overpowers tho the mint of course is predominant - Thanks for a keeper Myrna