GASCON ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

By BobD

Ingredients

• 6-8 SERVINGS
• Garlic has always been part of Gascon cooking, and the anchovies appeared in the Middles Ages, when the government imposed a high tax on salt.
• • 1 5-6 pound leg of lamb
• • 8 garlic cloves, halved
• • 12 anchovy fillets, packed in oil
• • Freshly ground black peppercorn to taste
• • 1 rendered duck fat
• • 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• • 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• • 1 turnip, coarseley chopped
• • 1 cup duck demi-glace

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from dartagnan.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a sharp knife, make sixteen small incisions in the leg of lamb and slide the garlic halves into them. Make 12 small incisions between the fat and the flesh of the lamb and slide the anchovies into them. The anchovies should stay near the surface of the meat. Sprinkle with pepper.

3. Heat the duck fat over a high flame in a heavy ovenproof pan large enough to hold the entire leg of lamb. Quickly sear the lamb on all sides, then place the pan in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes, scatter the carrot, onion, and turnip around the roast and cook for another 40-45 minutes for medium rare, or more according to your preference.

4. Remove the meat from the oven and let rest in a warm place. Discard the fat from the pan, deglaze with the duck demi-glace, and reduce by half over a high flame. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, pushing on the vegetables to extract all the juices. Return the sauce to the saucepan just to heat it. Slice the lamb and serve with the sauce on the side and with potatoes sautéed in duck fat.