Easter: Roasted Leg of Spring Lamb "Gigotan", with Baked Cannellini Beans and Confit of Spring Vegetables
Source of Recipe
Marc Poidevin
List of Ingredients
1 (18 to 20 pound) baby lamb
2 pieces beef bone marrow
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
14 cloves garlic
1 cup cannelloni beans
2 fancy zucchini
2 fancy yellow squash
6 Roma tomatoes
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 Spanish onion
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 ounces demi-glace (available, packaged, at Gourmet Shops)
Recipe
Soak cannelloni beans in water overnight. Remove hind legs from baby lamb. Remove femur bone and kneecap. Pick 1 sprig of rosemary and 1/2 bunch of thyme, clean 4 cloves of garlic. Chop together until fine. Season bone marrow and inside of lamb leg with salt and pepper, and rub with chopped herb and garlic mixture. Insert marrow into leg cavity and tie with butcher's twine. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Blanch roma tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds. Shock in ice water until cold. Peel skin from tomatoes, cut in half and scrape out the seeds. Place 8 halves on foil lined sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and 2 sprigs of thyme. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place in oven, cook for 45 minutes to an hour, flip over and cook for another hour or until firm and dry. Turn oven up to 400 degrees. Clean 4 cloves of garlic of excess skin, but be sure to leave 1 layer on. Place in small pot and cover with oil. Place on moderate fire until slow simmer, about 5 minutes. Once simmer is reached, turn fire down very low and let garlic cook in oil. Be careful at this point, excessive heat will cause garlic cloves to explode, shooting hot oil in all directions. Use a splatter guard if unsure. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, remove from heat and let cool in oil. Crack femur bone and kneecap. Cut scrap meat, from lamb carcass, into large dice. Heat large roasting pan, add half of garlic "confit" oil. Carefully place lamb bones and scraps in pan and place in oven. Let roast, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown. At this point, remove from oven, add 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 small piece each of rosemary and thyme and deglaze with 4 cups of water. Make sure to scrape pan bottom well to loosen all of the meat bits that adhered during the roasting period. Transfer into saucepot large enough to fit everything, and simmer, skimming frequently, until reduced by half. Add demi-glace and reduce further until 12 ounces remains. Pass this fragrant lamb "Jus" through a strainer or coffee filter, and season to taste. Drain beans and place into thick bottomed pot. Cut carrot, celery and onion in half, add to pot. Add remaining rosemary, thyme, tomato halves, garlic and 2 ounces olive oil. Cover with water and bring to simmer. Continue to cook until beans are tender, about 2 hours. Pull off of fire and season with liberal amounts of salt. Let cool in liquid. When cold, remove cooking liquid and discard with herbs. Chop aromatics and re-combine with beans. Cut each of the squash and zucchini into 3 equal sized cylinders. Cut each of the cylinders into 4 equal sized wedges. Trim each of the wedges, using a pairing knife, into football shaped pieces. This is called "Tourne." Blanch in salted, boiling water until easily pierced with a knife tip. Cool quickly. Turn oven down to 375 degrees. Season lamb legs with salt and pepper, rub with oil, place on roasting rack and cook for 45 to 55 minutes. Check internal temperature with thermometer, it should be about 135 to 140 degrees. Pull from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Place beans and vegetables in medium sized pot with 4 ounces of lamb "Jus". Simmer until thick, season to taste and serve, distributing the vegetables evenly. Slice leg of lamb cross grain, making sure to keep whole slices intact with marrow. Place on top of vegetable, bean mixture. Place 1 piece of garlic confit and 2 pieces of tomato confit on top of each portion. Drizzle 2 ounce of lamb "Jus" on each plate and serve piping hot!
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