Leg of Lamb with Potatoes

By corlear

Gigot Boulangère

This recipe is a variation of Leg of Lamb with Roasted Garlic and Shallots (the base recipe).

Boulangère means baker's style, and, before every home had an oven, this dish would have been cooked by the local baker.

Ingredients

• 1 small French-cut leg of lamb, weighing about 5 lb
• 5-7 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt
• pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 lb medium onions
• 2 lb potatoes
• 2 cups beef or veal stock

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. Trim the lamb as directed in the basic recipe. Peel 4 garlic cloves. Finely chop 2 cloves and cut the other 2 into 4-5 thin slivers. Make several shallow incisions in the lamb and insert the slivers of garlic.

2. Peel 1 lb medium onions and cut them lengthwise in half. Lay each half flat and cut across into thin slices. Peel 2 lb potatoes, slice very thinly, and put them into a bowl. Strip the thyme leaves from the stems and mix with the potatoes. Cover the potatoes with a wet cloth so they do not discolor.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Cook the onions and garlic until soft, 5-8 minutes. Stir the onion mixture into the potatoes with a pinch of nutmeg and salt and pepper. Heat the oven to 150°F.

4. Brown the lamb in a shallow baking dish as directed. Transfer to a plate. Spread the potato mixture over the bottom of the dish. Add 2 cups beef or veal stock, adding more if necessary so the potatoes are almost covered. Set the lamb on top, lower the oven heat to 350°F. and continue roasting as directed in the base recipe. If necessary, remove the lamb and keep warm, and continue baking the potato mixture until golden brown. Carve the lamb as directed in the base recipe, and serve with the potatoes and cooking juices.