Roasted Lamb Breast with Moroccan Stuffing
A budget-friendly cut turned slow-roasted magic — crisp skin, tender meat, fragrant spiced quinoa filling.
I’ve always felt the pull to wander. Something inside me — likely that whisper of gypsy lineage threaded somewhere along my Irish ancestry — has forever urged me to roam, to see beyond my own backyard, to taste life in faraway kitchens and breathe spices thick in evening air. A longing to live free, barefoot, unbound.
But life has been steady. Domestic. A calendar coloured in swimming lessons, preschool pickups, renovation dust and responsibility. It’s beautiful — this season of growth and children and routine — but my bones still ache for movement, for sandy feet and slow mornings, for a little wildness.
So soon we’ll pack bags and go — even if only for a week — to dip toes in cold creeks, read until sleep overtakes us, eat with messy fingers and let schedules fall away. A small rebellion. A breath.
Before we disappear, I’m leaving you with something deeply comforting — Roasted Lamb Breast with Moroccan Stuffing. A dish woven with tradition, thrift, and flavour. Lamb breast (or flap) is an old-world cut — inexpensive, fatty in the best way, made for slow heat and patience. Once forgotten, now ready for rediscovery.
The stuffing is fragrant with dates, coriander, Moroccan spice and macadamia crunch — sweet meets savoury, held together with quinoa for body and balance. The skin crisps into near-crackling, the meat turns tender and yielding, and the whole roast slices beautifully onto the plate.
Serve simply — dutch carrots roasted in the lamb’s warmth, a side of greens, and fresh mint sauce to brighten each bite. Eat slowly. Generously.
This roast is slow food at its finest — humble ingredients transformed through time, patience and spice. The kind of dish made for shared tables, for passing plates and stories, for gathering without rush. Whether you’re wandering far or simply wandering back to the kitchen for seconds, this is comfort that grounds and delights.
Cook it, carve it, linger at the table. Let the aroma fill your home like memory.
Roasted Lamb Breast with Moroccan Stuffing
Serves 4 | Prep 20 min | Cook 2½ hrs
Ingredients
Lamb
-
2 lamb breasts, boned (order from butcher)
-
Olive oil + sea salt
-
5 sprigs lemon thyme
-
2 bunches baby dutch carrots
Stuffing
-
1 leek
-
2 cloves garlic, crushed
-
25g butter
-
10 dates, chopped
-
1 cup cooked red quinoa
-
1 egg, lightly whisked
-
¼ cup chopped macadamias
-
1 tbsp chopped coriander (stem + leaf)
-
2 tsp Moroccan seasoning
-
¼ lemon — zest + juice
-
Salt & pepper
Mint Sauce
-
5 sprigs fresh mint leaves
-
1 dessert spoon rapadura sugar
-
2 dessert spoon boiling water
-
4 dessert spoon apple cider vinegar
Method
Make the stuffing
-
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook 5–10 mins until soft.
-
Add garlic + Moroccan seasoning; cook 1 min.
-
Stir in quinoa, dates, nuts, coriander, lemon zest + juice. Season. Cook 2 mins.
-
Remove from heat, stir through egg. Cool slightly.
Prepare the lamb
5. Preheat oven to 220°C.
6. Lay lamb breasts skin-side down. Trim excess hard fat.
7. Spread stuffing evenly, leaving a 1cm border.
8. Roll tightly from the narrow end and tie with kitchen twine.
9. Score skin lightly, place uncovered in fridge 1–48 hrs to dry (optional but worth it).
10. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle sea salt + thyme.
11. Roast 30–40 mins, then reduce heat to 150°C and cook 2–2½ hrs.
12. Rest before carving.
Roast the carrots
13. Place carrots in dish with oil, thyme, salt + pepper.
14. Roast during final 40 mins of lamb cooking. If needed, increase heat to 220°C while lamb rests.
Mint sauce
15. Finely chop mint.
16. Combine sugar + boiling water, steep 2 mins, add vinegar. Balance to taste.
Serve lamb sliced with carrots, mint sauce and greens.
Keep bones for stock — liquid gold.
Tips & Variations
-
Crispier skin: keep lamb uncovered in fridge overnight.
-
Swap macadamias → almonds or pistachios.
-
Add chopped apricots or pomegranate for sweetness.
-
Serve with couscous, roast potatoes or flatbreads, if feeding a crowd.
-
Want heat? Add chilli flakes to the stuffing.
Serving & Storage
-
Rest 10–15 mins before slicing — essential.
-
Store leftovers airtight 3 days in fridge.
-
Reheat low + slow or enjoy cold in wraps the next day.
-
Freeze cooked lamb slices (no stuffing) up to 2 months.
FAQ
Q. Can I prepare it ahead?
Yes — stuff + roll 1–2 days before roasting. Skin dries, becomes crisp.
Q. Is lamb breast fatty?
Yes, beautifully so. Slow heat renders most out, keeping meat tender.
Q. Can I use another stuffing grain?
Couscous or rice works, but quinoa gives structure and moisture.
Lamb Breast Roast with Moroccan Stuffing
Ingredients
- 2 Lambs Breast boned order and ask your butcher to do this
- 1 Leek
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 25 g Butter
- 10 Dates chopped
- 1 cup cooked Red Quinoa
- 1 Egg lightly whisked
- ¼ cup rough chopped Macadamia nuts
- 1 tbsp finely chopped Coriander stem and leaves
- 2 tsp Moroccan spice seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 5 Sprigs Lemon thyme
- ¼ Lemon Zest and juice
- Olive oil
- 2 bunch Baby dutch Carrots
Mint Sauce
- 5 sprigs Fresh Mint leaves
- 1 dessert spoon Rapadura sugar
- 2 dessert spoon Boiling water
- 4 dessert spoon Apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Stuffing
- In a saucepan over medium heat add butter. Once melted and starting to foam add the leeks.
- Seat the leeks for 5 -10 minutes until translucent an soft. Add the garlic and Moroccan seasoning and cook off for 1 minute.
- Now add the quinoa, dates, nuts, coriander, salt, pepper lemon juice and zest and combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the egg and stir through off heat.
- Leave to cool slightly.
Lamb
- Preheat oven to 220C
- Place the lambs breasts skin side down with the smallest side towards you.
- Cut out any overly fatty bits (it is a fatty bit of meat but most renders away through long cooking).
- Spread the stuffing evenly over the 2 breasts leaving a 1cm cleared boarder for rolling.
- Starting at the skinny end roll up the lamb away from you. Secure with kitchen twin in a few places to hold the rolled roast together. Repeat with the remaining lamb breast.
- Score the top of the lamb breast roll lightly across the width with a sharp knife. Place in the fridge uncovered for at least an hour and up to 2 days to dry the skin out a little (this helps with crackling)
- When ready to roast drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes and the sprigs of lemon thyme.
- Place in the middle rack of the oven and roast for 30- 40 minutes.
- Then turn the temperature down to 150C an roast for 2 – 2 1/2 hours. Remove and allow to rest a little.
- For the carrots place in a heat proof dish drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with lemon thyme, slat and pepper and place in the oven when lamb still has 40 mins to go. If the carrots need additional roasting after lamb (depending on carrot size) ramp up the heat to 220C and roast while the lamb rests.
Mint sauce
- Chop the mint leaves finely.
- In a jar or bowl add the sugar, chopped mint and the boiling water. Allow to steep for a few minutes.
- Add the vinegar and taste for balance adding more sugar or vinegar balance depending.
- Serve with the carved lamb roast and dutch baby carrots.
- Carve and serve the lamb, serving with the roasted baby dutch carrots with a side of greens and mint sauce.
Notes
- Order your lambs breast/flaps from your butcher. Ask it to be deboned but keep the bones they make an outstanding stock broth.
If you Loved this recipe try one of these
Ricotta, Kale and Roast Pumpkin and Zucchini Lasagne
Potato, Leek and Cashew Veloute (soup)
Pin For Later
Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love to see your version of this Roasted Lamb Breast!
Tag @thekrookedspoon on Instagram and use #thekrookedspoon so I can share your creation.
