Basil-Stuffed Lamb Roast

For stuffing, in small saucepan, cook onion, celery, and garlic in hot oil until tender, but not brown.

In large bowl, combine eggs, spinach, parsley, basil, marjoram, and pepper; add onion mixture. Stir in croutons and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with water to moisten, tossing lightly. Set aside.

Remove fell (pinkish-red paper-thin layer) from lamb. Pound lamb to an even thickness, and sprinkle with rosemary. Spread stuffing over lamb. Roll up (starting from long side), and tie securely.

Place lamb, seam-side down, on a rack in a large, shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into thickest portion of meat. Roast in 325 degrees F oven, uncovered, until thermometer registers 150 degrees F. Let roast stand for 15 minutes before carving.

*When Good Housekeeping tested this recipe: we found the amount of stuffing was too much to roll into the meat. We used 4 cups croutons instead of 6 cups.

Tips & Techniques We recommend utilizing the pan drippings to make a sauce. Here's how: Spoon off any fat from drippings in pan; add 1 1/2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, stirring to loosen browned bits. Over medium heat, heat to boiling.

For information on how to order a copy of the book, June Fete Fare , write to: AMHCC June Fete Cookbook, The Women's Board, Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, PA 19001.