Healthful dish named after town

Associated Press

Here's a healthful taste of regional cooking. This relatively low-fat dish is named for Ellensburg, a small town in Washington state that is well known for its succulent lamb.

Farther east in the state, apricot orchards are abundant and fields of mint are common, according to "Weight Watchers Simply The Best All American" cookbook (Hungry Minds, $21.95).

You can serve the dish warm or at room temperature. If a grill is inconvenient, the lamb can be broiled, but the cooking time may vary slightly.

Grilled Ellensburg Leg of Lamb with Apricot-Mint Compote

• 3-pound lean leg of lamb, butterflied and trimmed of all visible fat
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup dried oregano
• 1/4 cup dried rosemary, crumbled
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
• 12 ripe apricots, pitted and chopped (about 3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the lamb in a large shallow roasting pan. Combine the oil, garlic and coarse salt in a bowl. Coat all sides of the lamb with the oil-garlic mixture. Cover and set aside to marinate, at room temperature, for 1 hour. Coat one side of the lamb with the oregano and the other side with the rosemary.

Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray; prepare the grill. Grill the lamb 5 inches from the heat, turning once until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the lamb registers 120-130 degrees (medium rare), about 15 minutes for each side. Let stand 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, to make the compote: Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the apricots, sugar and table salt and saute until the apricots are tender, about 3 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mint and pepper.

Cut the lamb into thin slices across the grain and serve with the apricot-mint compote.

Makes 12 servings.