Yield: Serves 10-12
Time: 2 ½ hours
This recipe was originally featured in my cookbook and is a family favorite in my house. This rustic dish is a classic of the French countryside. Boulangère refers to dishes featuring a garnish of onions and potatoes. The most common version features lamb, as this dish does, which is roasted atop the potatoes, allowing the flavors to seep down from the lamb into what becomes its side dish. This dish is meant to serve a large group, and it will make quite an impression at the table and in people’s memories as well.
Ingredients
6-pound boneless leg of lamb, excess fat and sinew trimmed
1 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons kosher salt
black pepper in a mill
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
3 tablespoons finely sliced flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 pounds onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
5 pounds Idaho potatoes cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices and reserved
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the lamb out on your work surface with the inside facing up. Drizzle with ¼ cup olive oil and rub over the surface. Season generously with salt and pepper and scatter the garlic, thyme, and parsley over the surface. Roll the lamb up as taut and evenly as possible and tie it with kitchen twine at 2-inch intervals.
2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add ¼ cup oil and heat it. Rub the butter over the outside of the lamb and season the outside of the lamb generously with salt and pepper and sear the lamb well on all sides. Transfer the lamb to a clean, dry surface.
3. Carefully pour off any oil remaining in the pan. Add ¼ cup fresh oil and heat it. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until tender not browned, approximately 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the pan. Add the stock, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir and spread the potatoes out evenly in the pan.
4. Set the lamb on top of the potatoes and roast in the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted to the thicker part of the lamb reads 110 F to 115 F for rare or medium-rare, or longer for more well done, approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the oven, and let rest for 25 minutes, keeping the potatoes and lamb covered and warm during this time.
Notes:
To serve, slice the lamb and arrange it on a platter. Serve potatoes reheated if necessary, alongside in a bowl, or on the platter. The lamb will cook to up to another 4-6 degrees while resting; this is called carry-over cooking.
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