Five-hour leg of lamb

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 lamb (leg with bone)
• 5 cloves garlic, cut into sticks
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 8 sage leaves
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 2 onions, halved
• 10 apricots, dried
• 1 bottle of dry red wine
• 2 cups sour cream
• Salt
• pepper
• Stock (Lamb stock)
• 2 cups of yogurt
• 2 tsp honey, liquid
• 125 g nuts (hazelnuts and walnuts, mixed), grated
• 1 pinch(s) of cayenne pepper
• possibly soy sauce

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

Remove all thick layers of fat from the leg. Pierce all sides with a sharp knife about two centimeters deep and press a garlic clove deeply into each hole. Drizzle the meat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and massage it in with the heel of your hand. Lightly roast the vegetables and onions in a pan with a little oil. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit). Heat the oil in a roasting pan until lightly smoked. Sear the leg on all sides until browned. Then season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the meat with 250 ml of red wine. Add the roasted vegetables, onions, rosemary, sage, and apricots. Remove from heat and cover and place in the preheated oven. Turn the leg of lamb every hour, basting with 2 tablespoons of sour cream and topping up with red wine. After 4.5 hours, remove the lid, pour in the remaining red wine, and add the rest of the sour cream from the first container. While the meat is roasting, mix the yogurt with the nuts, cayenne pepper, and honey for the dip and ladle into small bowls depending on the number of servings. After 5 hours, use a tablespoon to check whether the meat can be pulled away from the bone. If it’s too firm, add another 0.5 hour of roasting time, basting occasionally. Remove the leg from the roasting pan, reduce the oven heat to 50 degrees Celsius, and keep the meat warm on a baking sheet in the oven while you prepare the sauce. Heat the roasting pan on the stovetop. If necessary, add a little boiling water and scrape any juices from the sides and bottom, bring to a boil, and then pour through a sieve. Squeeze out the residue well. Skim any fat from the sauce. Whisk in the second cup of sour cream, bring back to a boil, and season with the lamb stock. How about a dash of soy sauce? Serve the leg whole and carve it at the table using a large spoon, without a knife. Dip the meat bites (until they’re soft and buttery) into the yogurt and nut sauce. Serve with fried potatoes, preferably fried in oil with garlic, and green beans. Alternatively, try ciabatta or Portuguese white bread instead of potatoes.