Leg of lamb with cherries and pine nuts

With spring coming, we'll be making the most of the cherries we're starting to see at the market. In this recipe, boneless lamb has a flavorful filling and is served with a thick sauce with an intense cherry and wine flavor . You'll love it!

The hours of cooking will do the work of tenderizing the meat and making it juicier.

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 saucepan-type cocotte (in the latter, I recommend lowering the temperature a little more, because the lid -which radiates the heat- is closer to the meat and it will cook in less time otherwise).

Le Creuset oval cocotte

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 60 g (1/2 cup) 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 to you boneless.

For the sauce:

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

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven: 180 °C (160 ºC if you have a fan oven).
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 filling ingredients with a pinch of salt and pepper. Allow to cool.
3. Place the boneless leg of lamb on a board (skin side down). Place the stuffing over as much of the cut surface as possible. Close the edges of the meat over the stuffing so that it is as closed as possible, and make a bundle as neat as possible with cooking string .
4. Brush the meat generously and evenly over the entire surface and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Oil the cocotte (it is not necessary to clean the cocotte after making the filling, the leftover stuffing will flavour the meat as well). Heat over medium heat. Add the lamb and brown evenly on all sides. Cover with the lid and transfer the cocotte to the oven.
6. Roast for 30 minutes at a high temperature, around 170ºC, before reducing the temperature to 130-140ºC and roasting for a further 2 hours at the lowest setting.
7. Remove the lamb from the cocotte and let it rest for 15 minutes.
8. Remove all contents from the cocotte and set aside, leaving two tablespoons of liquid and seasonings in the cocotte.
9. Place the cocotte on the heat and add the wine and 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, whisking each time to mix well and thicken the sauce.
11. Add the tablespoons of berry and cherry jam, stirring until melted into the sauce. Season to taste.
12. Place the lamb in the sauce to warm it up.

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