Recipes / Autumn/WinterBatch CookingCan Be Made in AdvanceCooking for the TroopsFamily ClassicsOne-pot RecipesSlow CookingSunday LunchCasseroleGluten FreeLamb / Carbonnade Nimois

Autumn/Winter, Batch Cooking, Can Be Made in Advance, Casserole, Cooking for the Troops, Family Classics, Gluten Free, Lamb, One-pot Recipes, Recipe, Slow Cooking, Sunday Lunch

Difficulty: Easy

Carbonnade Nimois

This is my version, adapted from Elizabeth David's "Nimois carbonnade" (French Provincial Cooking). In her words, it "is one of those slow-cooked dishes of meat and vegetables which is still, in places where household ovens are rare, sent to cook at the local bakery. Put in as soon as the bread is taken out, while the oven is still very hot, it is left 3 or 4 hours and, by the time the oven is cool, the meat is so tender that it could be eaten with a spoon. This form of cookery is obviously the most convenient for people who have Aga or similar cookers, or for anybody who wants to leave the food to look after itself while they are out." It is French Provincial Cooking at it's absolute best. It's one of my very favourite things to eat in Autumn/ Winter, when the weather is miserable and you find yourself with a day cooped up indoors. Batten down the hatches ..this provides the most fabulous and warming anecdote to the unfavourable elements outside.

Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

  • SERVES 4
  • 2 slices of mutton or lamb cut from the leg, each about ⅓ inch thick
  • 115 g bacon (streaky and unsmoked)
  • 20 small new potatoes (washed but left whole and unpeeeled)
  • 1 Bulb of Garlic
  • 4 Sprigs of Rosemary or Thyme
  • 5 Carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthways and then into 1cm thick half moons
  • 2 Fennel Bulbs, cored, rinsed and cut into wedges
  • 1 Aubergine, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
  • 4-5 Large tomatoes, cut into 1.5 inch wedges
  • 1 Tin of artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
  • Salt & Pepper

Method

one. Preheat the oven to 220ºc. Peel 2 cloves of garlic and cut into small slithers. Make a few small incisions in the flesh of the meat with a sharp knife and put the garlic pieces into the slithers. Separate the rest of the garlic into cloves, leave whole.

two. Put the lamb into a large roasting dish. Pour over the olive oil. Add the vegetables around the side. Throw the bacon strips over the top, followed by the herbs. Pour over the olive oil and season Put into a hot oven for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven very low, (150), cover the pan, and leave for 3½ to 4 hours. By the time it is cooked most of the fat will have been absorbed by the potatoes, and the whole dish will have a typical southern flavour and smell.