Beautiful Butterflied Leg Of Lamb

Serves: 8 people.

Preparation Time: 6 – 8 hours marinading, 30 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to cook.

• 1 x 2 kg leg of lamb
• 2 ancho Mexican dried chillies or similar
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 1 lemon
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 bunch of fresh oregano
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 500g low fat Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp mint sauce

1. The lamb will need preparing at least 8 hours before. Cut down centre of lamb to expose bone and remove.
2. Now lay the lamb flat with skin facing down and using a sharp knife, make an incision halfway into the flesh on each side. Now open lamb out so that it is flat.
3. Soak your dried chillies in a bowl of hot water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
4. While waiting for the chillies, put a pan on medium heat and the black and pink peppercorns, fennel and coriander seeds. No oil is required as we want to dry roast these. 30 – 45 seconds should be long enough.
5. Once chillies have soaked, add these along with dry roast mix and a splash of water to a food processor and blend into a paste.
6. In a large bowl, mix the spice paste with the lemon zest, paprika, oil, vinegar, a pinch of sea salt and oregano leaves. peel and crush in the garlic, finely slice the fresh chillies and add into the mix.
7. Now add in the lamb and thoroughly rub the mixture into all the gaps. This needs to be left to marinade for atleast 4 – 6 hours minimum.
8. Remove lamb and leave to warm to room temperature.
9. Make sure your barbeque is ready and hot.
10. The lamb needs cooking for around 45 minutes. Make sure you turn it every 10 minutes so that it cooks evenly.
11. Once cooked, removed from the barbeque and leave to cool for 15 minutes.
12. While lamb is cooling, mix the Greek yoghurt with the mint sauce in a bowl.
13. A great side to try with this recipe is our avocado and mango salad
14. In a small bowl, stir the harissa through the yoghurt and season to taste.
15. Slice lamb and serve on a board with halve a lemon.