Preparation

Combine chopped garlic and rosemary with salt. With a paring knife, make small incisions in the meat and fill with the rosemary and garlic mixture. Reserve 1 teaspoon for finishing jus. Truss lamb leg with butcher’s twine to keep it structured while cooking. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat sauté pan or large roasting pan, add olive oil, and sear lamb on all sides. Add the onion, head of garlic, fennel, and remaining rosemary. Place the pan in a 325 degree oven for 5 minutes. Baste meat as much as possible with the drippings on the bottom of the pan. After 5 minutes, turn heat down to 300 degrees and finish cooking until internal temperature reaches 130 degrees.

Remove pan from the oven and take meat out of the pan. Allow meat to rest for 1/3 of the time of the cooking time. While the meat rests, prepare the jus by draining any fat that has accumulated on the bottom of the pan and return to the stove.

Over medium heat, caramelize the vegetable and any trimmings from the lamb. Add tomato paste and continue cooking several more minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Allow wine to reduce by half, add one cup water, reduce by half, and then pass through fine mesh strainer into a sauce pan. Add the remaining teaspoon garlic and rosemary mixture and adjust with salt and pepper.

Remove twine and reheat the lamb in the oven, if needed. Cut thin slices, about 1/8 inch, and arrange on a platter. Pour hot jus over lamb and serve.

recipe tags

• main courses
• fall
• french
• passport
• spring
• summer
• winter
• a taste of provence