Leg of lamb with cherries and pine nuts

When spring arrives, we are going to take advantage of the cherries that we began to see in the market. In this recipe, boneless lamb has a flavorful stuffing and is served with a thick sauce infused with intense cherry and wine flavours . You'll love it!

The hours of cooking will do the job of tenderizing the meat and gaining juiciness.

We have prepared this recipe in the Le Creuset oval cocotte, but you could also make it in the round cocotte or in the low casserole type (in the latter, I recommend lowering the temperature a little more, because the lid - which radiates heat - is closer to meat and will be done in less time otherwise).

Oval Le Creuset Cocotte

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup (60 g) fresh white bread crumbs
• 75 g (1/2 cup) dried cherries (you can substitute another dried fruit)
• 25 g pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 large sage leaves, roughly torn
• 1 medium yolk
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the lamb:

• 1.5 - 1.8 kg leg of lamb, boneless*
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

*Ask your butcher to deliver it boneless.

For the sauce:

• 250 ml (1 cup) red wine
• 1 ½ cups (375 ml) hot vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 2 tablespoons of berry-cherry jam.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven: 180 °C (160 ºC if you have an oven with air).
2. To make the filling, heat the oil and butter together in a Le Creuset cocotte . Add the chopped red onion and garlic and cook over low heat until tender but not yet browned. Remove the cocotte from the heat and add all the remaining ingredients for the filling with a little salt and pepper. Let temper.
3. Place the boneless leg of lamb on a board (skin side down). Place the filling on as much of the cut surface as possible. Close with the edges of the meat over the filling so that it is as closed as possible, and make a bundle as clean as possible with cooking string .
4. Brush generously and evenly across the entire surface of the meat and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Put oil in the cocotte (it is not necessary to have cleaned the cocotte after making the filling, the remains of the filling will flavor the meat as well). Heat on the stove over medium heat. Add the lamb and brown evenly all over. Cover with the lid and pass the cocotte to the oven.
6. Roast for 30 minutes at a high temperature, around 170ºC, before reducing the temperature to 130-140ºC and roast for a further 2 hours on the lowest setting.
7. Remove the lamb from the cocotte and let it rest for 15 minutes.
8. Remove all the contents of the cocotte and set aside, leaving two tablespoons of liquid and seasonings in the cocotte.
9. Put the cocotte on the fire and add the wine and the vegetable broth, and bring to a boil.
10. Mix the softened butter and flour together and pour small amounts of this mixture into the hot liquid in the cocotte. Go beating each time so that it mixes well and thickens the sauce.
11. Add the tablespoons of berry and cherry jam, stirring until melted into the sauce. Season to taste.
12. Introduce the lamb in the sauce so that it recovers temperature.

When serving, remove the string from the lamb and cut into thick slices. Serve with the sauce.