This week we celebrated a mid winter  Bastille Day with a meltingly tender slow cooked seven hour leg of lamb, Gigot de Sept Heures. An easy set and forget dish that filled the house with an incredible aroma all day long.

Juicy, succulent and full of flavour, after seven hours in a slow oven the meat literally fell off the bone. Served the traditional way a la cuillère  on a bed of bean puree and doused with a rich onion sauce. A classic French bistro recipe which also happens to be exact opposite of how we usually enjoy our lamb; blushing pink and slightly under done. Enormously satisfying it was perfect comfort food for an otherwise chilly and dreary day. Ooh la la we certainly enjoyed this meal.

Just in case you are wondering ‘a la  cuillère’ literally translates as ‘by the spoonful’. True to form we ate our lamb with a spoon, no knife and fork required.

Slow Roasted Seven-Hour Leg of Lamb With Haricot Bean Puree

Serves 6–8

For The Lamb

2 – 2.5 kg shank end leg of lamb
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 onions , sliced
8 garlic cloves , peeled and sliced
2 – 3 large sprigs fresh  rosemary
2 -3  fresh or dried bay leaves
½ bottle (375 ml) dry white wine
2 cups (500ml) veal or chicken stock
sea  salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For The Haricot Bean Puree

2 cups dried haricot or cannellini beans
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 whole cloves garlic
bouquet garni; 3 sprigs fresh thyme and parsley and a bay leaf bundled together with twine
6 whole cloves
1 small brown onion
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

The Night Before

SOAK the beans overnight in 6 cups of cold water and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Seven Hours Before Serving Time

PREHEAT oven to 120 C.
SEASON leg of lamb with sea salt and pepper.
PLACE a heavy, lidded Le Creuset style pot on the stove; add olive oil and thoroughly brown lamb on all sides for 10 – 15 minutes on high until deeply golden.  Transfer lamb to a plate. Drain away all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot.
ADD sliced onions and garlic to the pot with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
ADD wine and stock, stir well to combine, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot.
BRING to a strong simmer, return the lamb to the pot with the rosemary and bay leaves.
COVER with tight fitting lid and bake in slow pre-heated oven for 6 hours until very tender, turning every 2 hours.
UNCOVER the pot for the last hour of slow roasting to allow the sauce to thicken a little. Baste the lamb with a large ladleful of sauce  every fifteen minutes or so to keep the meat moist and tender.

One And A Half Hours Before Serving Time

PREPARE the haricot bean puree.  Drain soaked beans and transfer to a large saucepan with 6 cups  of fresh water, garlic and bouquet garni.
STUD the onions with the cloves and add to the pot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, about an hour.
REMOVE  from heat. Discard bouquet garni and cloves from the onion. Strain beans and garlic, reserving cooking liquid.
BLEND together cooked beans, onion and garlic  with  ¼ cup cooking liquid, oil and yoghurt until smooth and creamy. Add more cooking water to the puree, a tablespoonful at a time, until  desired consistency is achieved.
KEEP warm until lamb is cooked.

To Serve 

SLICE or tear lamb into chunks . Serve over a bed of bean puree doused with plenty of onion  sauce, French style a la cuillère (with a spoon).