Stuffed Leg of Lamb Wrapped in Pastry(Bouty Arniou Ghemisto Zim)
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 23
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
-
Stuffing
- 3⁄4 lb ground lean pork
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon orange peel, finely minced
- 3⁄4 teaspoon cumin
- 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper, to taste
-
Pastry
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1⁄2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 1⁄2 cups milk, room temperature
-
Lamb
- 1 (5 -6 lb) leg of lamb, trimmed and boned
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 -3 garlic cloves, minced (or pressed)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
directions
-
For stuffing:
- Combine all ingredients and blend well.
- Cover and refrigerate.
-
For pastry:
- Disolve sugar and yeast in warm water and let stand until foamy and proofed.
- Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
- Using your hands, rub butter into flour until it is absorbed.
- Make well in the center of flour and pour in yeast and milk.
- Still using hands,push flour from sides of bowl into center and mix to form dough.
- Knead several minutes until smooth.
- Place in lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.
-
For lamb:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Set butterflied lamb skin side down on working surface.
- Pound to flatten slightly.
- Mix butter,garlic,salt and pepper to a paste; rub half thoroughly into lamb.
- Spread with stuffing and reshape leg.
- Sew closed with string;tie crosswise at 1 inch intervals and twice around length to hold stuffing.
- Rub outside with remaining butter mixture, then rub with rosemary.
- Set on rack in roasting pan and roast 20 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 and roast an additional 40 minutes.
- Let cool, then remove string and brush off excess rosemary.
- * Lamb can be prepared ahead to this point. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours.Don't start the pastry until you take the lamb out of the refrigerator.
- Lightly oil shallow roasting pan.
- Knead dough once again.
- Roll out enough dough on lightly floured surface to make rectangle 1/4 inch thick, large enough to completely enclose lamb with a 1 inch overlap.
- Set lamb on one end of rectangle.
- Beat yolks with milk and brush some on edges of dough;fold dough over lamb.
- Press seams together; trim and reserve excess dough.
- Set seam side down in roasting pan and brush with some of yolk.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll excess dough into long thin ropes. Braid in threes to go around top perimeter of lamb.
- Remaining dough can also be made into smaller and thinner ropes and/or worked into more intricate designs such as leaves,tiny birds, flowers and coiled snakes inside the encircling braid, all symbols of Easter in Greece.
- Brush decorations with yolk mixture.
- Bake until pastry sets, about 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes(use a meat thermometer to check doneness).
- Transfer to heated platter and garnish with fresh mint sprigs, if desired.
- Let stand several minutes before slicing.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Leslie in Texas
Spring, Texas