Rôti d’agneau aux 2 haricots

Roast lamb with two kinds of beans

1 small lamb roast (500 g. or 1 pound)
1 clove garlic
1 sprig rosemary
25o g. or 1/2 pound fresh green beans
250 g. or 1/2 pound fresh fava beans or haricots cocos
2 tsp. coarse sea salt or kosher salt
3 tsp. olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel and halve the garlic clove. Cut lengthwise into thin slices. Plunge a sharp knife into the lamb at various intervals, inserting a garlic slice into each incision. Place the rosemary sprig on top, tucking it under the string if your roast is tied. Coat the roast with 1 tsp. of the olive oil. I find using my hands to spread the olive oil around the roast gives best results. Place the roast in an oiled roasting pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 7 / 450 degrees / hot.

While the oven is heating, precook the beans. Snip the ends off the green beans. Shell the fava or coco beans. Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water — it should be about halfway full. Add the sea salt and bring to a boil. Add the fava or coco beans and cook 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain into a sieve or colander. Repeat with the green beans. Set aside.

Place the lamb in the preheated oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, depending on how rare you like it. 5 minutes before the lamb is done, reheat the beans in a steamer if you have one, otherwise in 1 cm (1/2 inch) boiling water (and in this case, drain again before serving). Remove the lamb and check for doneness by inserting a sharp knife. When the meat is done, allow it to sit for a minute, then slice, season with salt and pepper, place in a serving dish and drizzle with the roasting juices. Place the warm beans in a bowl, drizzle with the remaining 2 tsp. of olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Serve accompanied by a fruity or hearty red wine according to your taste. We had a Chinon from the Loire Valley, but a Bordeaux, Beaujolais or Rhone wine would have been equally delicious. Serves 3-4.

2 Responses to Rôti d’agneau aux 2 haricots

  1. Sheri Boesch says:

    I love the site Meg. You’re so lucky to have access to all of the fresh food you use in your recipes. Living in the California countryside makes it hard to get certain things. But…we have a garden brimming with veggies so I want to thank you for inspiring me to get cookin’. You got any realllly good eggplant ideas?

    Sheri!

    • Meg says:

      Yes, definitely, there will be plenty of eggplant dishes here as time goes on. Eggplant, or aubergine as it is known in France, is a big star of southern French cuisine. I will try to post an eggplant recipe in the next week or two.

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