Braised leg of lamb in red wine, studded with mint and rosemary

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 leg(s) of lamb
• 1 pot of rosemary, 4 – 6 branches
• 1 bottle of wine (Bordeaux)
• 1 pot of mint, 4 – 6 sprigs
• Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• 2 lemons
• 1 bulb(s) garlic
• 100 ml olive oil
• 500 g potatoes
• 500 g beans, green
• 1 liter of water
• Herbs of Provence
• savory
• possibly sauce thickener

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 13 hours 20 minutes

First, trim the fat and skin from a good leg of lamb. Peel the cloves from a bulb of garlic, crush half (e.g., in a garlic press), and halve the other half. Cut the fresh rosemary stalks where the stems are still green and soft. Briefly immerse the rosemary in boiling water to partially “break open” the cell membranes, allowing the aromas to penetrate better. Then thread the stalks through the meat of the leg of lamb (larding them) so that the stalks are about 10-12 cm deep. Do not hold the mint sprigs in the boiling water, but thread them through the meat as well. I recommend using either a larding needle or a long surgical forceps to thread them through. The rosemary and mint should be distributed throughout the meat so that there is a stalk every 2-4 cm—this allows the intense flavor to penetrate the meat from within. Using only the soft parts of the rosemary, nothing will become woody or hard. Then, mix a marinade with the juice of two squeezed lemons, olive oil if needed, crushed garlic, pepper to taste, and more fresh, finely chopped rosemary, and rub it into the meat, rubbing the garlic into the creases. Pour a bottle of Bordeaux over the meat and let it marinate in the Bordeaux wine overnight in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. The next day, remove the meat from the red wine-marination mixture and sear it on all sides in a sufficiently large, cast-iron casserole dish. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven). Pour the marinade-wine mixture over the seared meat and, depending on the size of the leg, place it in the oven, covered, for 2-4 hours. Then turn off the oven and let the meat marinate for a while (I usually wait about 3 hours). While the meat is in the oven, quarter the potatoes, brush the cut surfaces with olive oil or spray with an oil atomizer, and sprinkle generously with Herbes de Provence. When the meat comes out of the oven, cook the potatoes in the oven at 180-200°C for 20-40 minutes (depending on the thickness of the potato wedges). Meanwhile, bring plenty of water to a boil, season with salt, and add a little savory. Trim both ends of the washed beans and cook the beans in boiling water for about 5-15 minutes (check for doneness by removing a bean every few minutes). Cook to your liking (crunchy is preferable). Then, rinse the beans in a sieve under cold water to stop the cooking. When the meat is cooked, remove the leg from the casserole dish, debone it, and trim it if necessary. Meanwhile, reduce the sauce slightly and thicken if necessary. After that, it’s ready and ready to serve. Serve the lamb with the potatoes and beans; a red wine would be a good accompaniment. I’ve cooked this dish several times, and everyone who tasted it has been delighted every time. I haven’t tried it like this yet, but it should work just as well in a Roman pot (fry it on all sides in a pan beforehand, etc.).