PolitiCook.net

AAF’s Recipe of the Day

This is a recipe for the not so frantic household. It’s a Slow Food type of dish, which means it takes a little time and effort into the preparation and the actual cooking time.

We cook this dish in the south of France whenever guests are announced. Everyone stays in the kitchen and chat, sipping wine and keeping an eye on the lamb. This is for 6 to 8 persons. So you’ll need a leg of lamb weighing roughly 2 kg (4 pounds), 6 garlic cloves cut into thin slices, 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 onions, finely chopped, 1 kg fresh tomatoes, (if you can get a bottle - 1 liter - Passata, it’s as good), 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 pint of dry white wine.

Rub the meat all over with salt and pepper. Cut the garlic cloves into thin slivers and divide the rosemary into little sprigs. Insert a sharp pointed knife into the lamb and insert a piece of garlic and a sprig of rosemary into the cut. Repeat all over the meat. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry the lamb, turning frequently, until lightly browned. Add the onions and fry for a minute, then press the tomatoes and their liquid through a coarse sieve into a pan. Add the sugar and the wine, bring to the boil and season to taste. Cover the pan tightly and simmer very gently for about 2 hours or until the lamb is tender, turning 2 or 3 times. Add extra water if necessary. Transfer the lamb to a hot serving dish. Skim any surface fat from the liquid and boil rapidly, uncovered, until reduced to a rough textured sauce.

Meanwhile, prepare the following root vegetables to roast for 1 hour before the end of the cooking time:
1 kg carrots and parsnips, peeled and quartered length-ways, 1 kg new baby potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 2 if too big, 250 gr baby onions, peeled (or larger onions, peeled and quartered), 4tsp olive oil, 6 cloves garlic, crushed, not peeled, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for close to an hour. You can add other goodies to your roasted vegetables, like eggplants, bell peppers etc…