Lamb leg with cherries and pine nuts

With spring here, let's make the most of the cherries we’re starting to see at the market. In this recipe, the deboned lamb has a flavorful stuffing 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 increasing juiciness.

We prepared this recipe in the Le Creuset oval casserole, but you could just as well make it in the round casserole or in the low, Shallow Casserole type (in the latter, I recommend lowering the temperature a bit more, because the lid—which radiates 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 stuffing:

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

For the lamb:

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

*Ask your butcher to debone it for you.

For the sauce:

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

Method

1. Preheat the oven: 180 °C (160 ºC if you have a fan oven).
2. To make the stuffing, heat the oil and butter together in a Le Creuset casserole. Add the chopped red onion and the garlic and, over low heat, cook until they are tender but still not browned. Remove the casserole from the heat and add all the remaining filling ingredients with a little salt and pepper. Let it cool slightly.
3. Place the deboned leg of lamb on a board (skin side down). Spread the stuffing over the largest cut surface possible. Fold the meat edges over the stuffing so it is as closed as possible, and tie into as neat a roast as you can with cooking twine.
4. Brush the entire surface of the meat generously and evenly and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Add oil to the casserole (it is not necessary to have cleaned the casserole after making the filling; the leftover filling will also add flavor to the meat). Heat over medium heat on the stove. Add the lamb and brown it evenly all over. Cover with the lid and transfer the casserole to the oven.
6. Roast for 30 minutes at a high temperature, about 170 ºC, before reducing the temperature to 130-140 ºC and roast for a further 2 hours in the lowest position.
7. Remove the lamb from the casserole and let it rest for 15 minutes.
8. Remove all the contents of the casserole and set aside, leaving two tablespoons of liquid and seasonings in the casserole.
9. Set the casserole over the heat and add the wine and the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil.
10. Mix the softened butter and the flour, and pour small amounts of this mixture into the hot liquid in the casserole. Whisk each time so it combines well and thickens the sauce.
11. Add the tablespoons of berry and cherry jam, stirring until it melts into the sauce. Season to taste.
12. Place the lamb into the sauce to bring it back up to temperature.

When ready to serve, remove the string from the lamb and slice into thick slices. Serve with the sauce.