Chard-stuffed roast lamb

Shoulder of lamb is a juicy and flavoursome cut- stuff with robust green chard plus raisins, pine nuts and olives for Mediterranean flavour

Prep:30 mins
Cook:1 hrs 15 mins
plus resting

Serves 6
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 543
fat 39g
saturates 14g
carbs 6g
sugars 4g
fibre 0g
protein 38g
salt 1g

Ingredients

large bunch chard (about 500g - rainbow chard looks pretty), leaves and stalks separated
4 tbsp olive oil
25g pine nuts
large handful raisins
2 handfuls large green olives, chopped
200ml white wine
1 boned shoulder of lamb (about 1½ kg boned weight), rolled and loosely tied (see tip, below)

Tip

Boned lamb shoulder

You need a boned shoulder of lamb for this recipe. You can buy boned shoulder unrolled, then stuff, roll and tie it yourself. Alternatively, buy it tied and push the chard in between the gaps, as it doesn’t need to be too neat for this recipe, and any stuffing that falls out still becomes part of the dish.

Method

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Shred the chard leaves, cut the stalks into batons and set the stalks aside. Heat half the oil in a frying pan, add the leaves and cook for 2 mins until completely wilted, then tip into a bowl. Add the pine nuts, raisins and olives, a tiny drizzle of olive oil, a small splash of the wine and some seasoning. Mix well.
Place the lamb on a board and push as much of the stuffing as you can into the cavity along the meat. Don’t worry if any of the stuffing falls out, but make sure you keep it. Scatter the stalks over the bottom of a shallow roasting tin and add any stray stuffing. Nestle the lamb among the stalks and pour the remaining wine over everything. Rub the lamb with the remaining olive oil, season with sea salt and ground black pepper, and put in the oven for 1 hr. Remove and leave to rest for 15 mins, then serve in thick slices with the braised stalks, and potatoes cooked the way you like them.