Lamb with beans in the oven
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Lamb with beans is a dish that can be prepared in 1000 ways. Here I present you a French version of this dish. Serve hot.
Instructions
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Step 1
For cooking this dish, it's best to use white beans, as they perfectly absorb liquid during cooking, become tender, but remain whole and keep their shape. Use a measuring cup to separate the desired amount of beans from the rest; a measuring cup is very convenient for soaking the beans. Soak the beans in 3 cups of regular tap water for 12 hours or overnight.
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Step 2
After the required time has elapsed, drain the beans into a colander, rinse under running water, and transfer to a deep saucepan. Then pour three cups of clean distilled water over the beans, add salt to taste, and mix the ingredients with a tablespoon. If the liquid does not completely cover the beans, add a little more water so that it is at least 3–4 centimeters above the level of the beans. Then place the saucepan on the stove set to high heat.
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Step 3
Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook the beans for 30 minutes. During this time, they will become softer, almost fully cooked, but not mushy. After 30 minutes, drain the cooked beans in a colander, let the remaining liquid drain off, and return the beans to the pot.
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Step 4
Preheat the oven to 230–240 degrees Celsius. For this dish, use a lamb leg—it's the best choice for roasting, as the meat in this part of the lamb is tender and very juicy. First, rinse the lamb under running water to remove any impurities, then dry it with paper kitchen towels. Place it on a cutting board and remove the membrane, which can make the lamb tough, as well as any excess fat, since it contains the strong odor that some people find unpleasant. Although if you've bought a young lamb's leg, there should be no odor at all. To make your dish aromatic, you need to stuff the leg with garlic. To do this, peel the garlic cloves, place them on a cutting board, and slice them into pieces about 5 millimeters thick.
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Step 5
Then, using a regular knitting needle at a slight angle toward the bone, make incisions 4–5 centimeters long. Insert garlic pieces into these slits and push them deeper using the same knitting needle.
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Step 6
Now you need to give the meat an attractive crust. To do this, rub the lamb with salt to taste, spread mustard on all sides, and sprinkle with ground black pepper. Take a large non-stick baking tray, place the meat on it, pour the required amount of olive oil over the lamb, put the tray in a preheated oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
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Step 7
While one side of the leg is roasting, peel the onion, rinse it under running water, dry with paper kitchen towels, place on a cutting board, and cut each onion into 4–6 pieces. After 15 minutes, open the oven, use two spatulas to flip the meat onto the uncooked side, arrange the chopped onion around it, and continue roasting the lamb for another 15 minutes.
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Step 8
After 30 minutes of intense baking, your lamb will become nicely browned; this initial cooking process is necessary to form a firm crust on the meat's surface, which will lock in the meat juices, thoroughly moistening the flesh. When the required time has elapsed, using a kitchen towel for protection, remove the baking tray with the lamb leg from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 175–180 degrees Celsius. Then add the cooked beans to the tray, spreading them evenly around the lamb, and pour in 1 cup of clean distilled water to prevent the beans from drying out during baking.
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Step 9
Take a large sheet of food-grade aluminum foil and cover the baking tray with it, making sure there are no gaps so that the steam accumulating under the foil can evenly steam the meat from all sides. Be careful, as the tray is still hot. Then place your still uncooked dish into the slightly cooled oven. Bake the lamb with beans for 1 hour, calculating approximately 30 minutes per 500 grams of meat.
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Step 10
After the required time has elapsed, turn off the oven, remove the foil from the baking sheet, stir the beans with a tablespoon, close the oven and let your dish rest for 10–15 minutes. Then taste it!