Leg of Lamb with Vegetables and Rosemary Triplets

Preheat the oven to 200 °. Wash vegetables and herbs. Peel the onion and cut into large pieces. Peel and roughly cut the carrot. Cut the celery stalk into thick slices as well. Eight the tomatoes and remove the stalks. Skin 4 cloves of garlic. Cut 2 into slices, finely chop 2. Set aside half of the thyme and 3 of the rosemary. Pick off the remaining leaves and needles, finely chop and mix with the chopped garlic and mustard with the soft butter. Season with pepper and salt. Pour about 3 tablespoons of the butter mixture into a cake syringe with a long, pointed hole nozzle.

Wash the leg of lamb cold, dry it, remove any silver skin and pepper and salt well all around. Now poke several 3 cm deep holes in the leg with a sharp knife and fill it with the butter mix up to the top with the help of the cake syringe. Place the leg of lamb in a roasting pan adapted to your size, brush its surface with half of the remaining butter, spread the onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes and garlic slices all around, slide the roasting pan into the oven on the 2nd rail from the bottom and the leg Cook for 15 minutes at first.

Then switch the heat down to 160 °. Take the roasting pan out of the oven for a moment, turn the leg, season the surface slightly and spread the remaining butter mixture on top. Pour in the red wine and stock and place sprigs of thyme and rosemary in it. Pierce a meat thermometer up to the middle of the leg and put the roaster back into the oven. Further cooking time approx. 85 minutes. "Our" desired core temperature was at least 66 °, preferably a little higher as we don't like to eat pink lamb. Anyway, it was tender as butter. However, if the core temperature rises too quickly at the above 160 °, then switch it down to 120 ° after 30 - 40 minutes. If you like the meat very pink, you have to set a core temperature of 60 - 62 °. The cooking time then depends on it.

While the meat is being cooked, lightly score the tomatoes at the base of the stem. Bring plenty of water to the boil in a saucepan, then remove it from the heat and add the tomatoes. Let them stay there until the skin can be peeled off. When they are all skinned, cut them into large pieces. In doing so, remove the stem end. Put the leaked juice in a bowl and keep it ready. Remove the skin from the peppers with the peeler, cut open, core, remove the stem, cut into large pieces and place in a separate bowl. Wash the zucchini, quarter lengthways, cut the quarter into thick slices and add to the paprika. Finely chop the thyme leaves and rosemary needles and mix with paprika, zucchini and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Let it steep until cooked. Skin the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into cubes, coarsely chop the garlic. Hold ready.

Cook the potatoes with their peel in strongly salted water until they are lightly firm to the bite, drain, have them ready.

Shortly before the end of the cooking time, fry the onions and garlic in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan until translucent. Deglaze with the juicy tomatoes and bring it to the boil briefly. Then add the marinated vegetables, pepper and salt everything well and flavor with lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. Let everything simmer gently for about 5 minutes, swirling every now and then. The vegetables should still be slightly crunchy.

At the same time in another pan - adjusted to the desired amount of potatoes - heat the olive oil, add the potatoes and slightly chopped rosemary needles, salt and roast lightly over a medium heat.

When the meat has reached the desired core temperature, switch off the oven temperature, take it out of the roaster and leave it to rest in the slightly opened oven on the wire rack until the sauce is made (approx. 10 minutes). To do this, pour the brew from the roaster through a sieve, collect it in a saucepan and bring it to a boil on the stove. Stir in the crème fraîche and some cornstarch mixed in water and season with white pepper and salt. Possibly stir in a leveled tablespoon of Dijon mustard to taste.

Remove the meat from the bone, cut into slices and serve with sauce, vegetables and potatoes.

Thank you, dear Anne, for this great meat. We would have liked to share it with you.