Lamb Boulangère
As the days lengthen and crocuses start to appear and blossom adorns the trees, I take solace in the fact that the season is turning and, let's face it, things are going to improve. One of my favourite traditional French recipes is lamb boulangère. This harks back to the days when people heading off to church on a Sunday would give a prepped up baking tray of the dish to the local baker who would put it in their cooling oven for the duration of the service. They could then repatriate it, wonderfully slow-cooked, on their way back from church and serve a tasty family lunch.
I'm not sure the younger generation of French people share this attention to detail. On a recent trip to Paris I saw a McDonalds next door to a Burger King next door to a Kentucky Fried Chicken on the Place de la République – quelle horreur!
Never mind, this is a seasonal and satisfying dish, that pairs well with wine and you don't have to be French to make it.
Ingredients: (Serves 4 to 6 Adults)
1 boneless 'butterflied' leg of lamb. [Circa 2 kg]
Pealed and finely sliced (Maris Piper) potatoes. [1.5+ kg]
I white (Spanish) onion, finely sliced.
Garlic x 4 cloves.
Rosemary x 6 sprigs
1 liter of vegetable stock
Ground black pepper and sea salt.
Olive oil.
MethodMethod
Pre-heat a fan oven to 180 degrees C.
Layer the sliced potatoes and onion in a large oblong oven dish. Stud the lamb liberally with small slices of peeled garlic and brush it with olive oil. Place the lamb, skin side down, on top of the potatoes and onions and add the vegetable stock to the oven dish. Place the rosemary sprigs on top of and underneath the lamb. Season everything well with salt and pepper.
Cook the lamb for at least an hour then turn it over whilst stirring up the vegetables so that they cook evenly. Cook the lamb for another hour, you can then turn the oven off and rest the dish in it for a further half hour.
Robin & Jason Yapp
I would accompany that with some steamed sprouts or green beans and a glass of lightly chilled Cabernet Franc.
Joyeuses Pâques!
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