BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LAVENDER, HONEY & CLAQUERET

Butterflied leg of lamb with lavender, honey & claqueret image

In France, claqueret is used as a dip for radishes or bread, but the goat's cheese, garlic and herbs in this cheese-based sauce also work well with lamb

Provided by Diana Henry

Time 55m

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

2.25kg leg of lamb (pre-boned weight), butterflied (ask your butcher to do this)
6 garlic cloves
5 lavender sprigs , leaves and flowers chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp lavender honey
400g fromage blanc
100g soft goat's cheese , crumbled
6 tbsp crème fraîche
3 shallots , finely chopped
3 garlic cloves , crushed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp dry white wine
1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp chives , finely chopped
3 tbsp parsley , finely chopped
3 tbsp chervil , finely chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp lavender honey
2 lavender sprigs , leaves and flowers chopped

Steps:

To make the claqueret, mix all the ingredients together. The flavours need time to meld, so ideally you should do this a couple of hours ahead and keep it at room temperature until ready to serve. You can also make the claqueret further ahead, cover and chill in the fridge, but remember to take it out and bring it to room temperature before serving.
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lay the lamb out flat, flesh-side up, and use a small knife to make incisions all over both the flesh and fat sides (they can be deeper on the flesh side). Crush the garlic with some sea salt using a pestle and mortar, then add the lavender leaves and flowers, olive oil, lemon, balsamic vinegar and honey to make a rough paste.
Put the lamb in a roasting tin and push the paste into the incisions you made. Finish with the lamb fat-side up. Mix the glaze ingredients together and spoon this over the lamb. Season, then roast for 15 mins.
Turn the heat down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roast for another 20 mins. The lamb will be pink. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for about 10 mins. Carve, then serve with the cooking juices and the claqueret.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 614 calories, Fat 38 grams fat, SaturatedFat 18 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 16 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 15 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 50 grams protein, Sodium 0.5 milligram of sodium