Roast Lamb Provencal with Mint Gravy recipe

Roast Lamb Provencal with Mint Gravy recipe
1 (6 to 7 pound) leg of lamb
Garlic
Flour
Salt and pepper
Rosemary
Water
Dry white wine
Bunch of fresh mint
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Cider vinegar

The Mint Sauce should be made in advance of baking the lamb. Read these instructions
thoroughly before beginning.

Remove all leaves and the tender tips of the stems from a bunch of fresh mint and chop
them very fine. Put in a deep bowl, and add 5 rounded tablespoons of sugar. Cover this
completely with cider vinegar. Stir well and cover. Let stand about 6 hours, stirring
every hour.

Insert a number of slivers of garlic into lamb so that they are distributed throughout the
meat. Sprinkle the top of the leg of lamb with flour, salt and pepper, and rosemary. Put
lamb in a roaster. Pour 1 cup dry white wine and 1 cup water in and covered roaster. Put
into a 500 degree F oven. Bake for 1/2 hour until it begins to brown and a crust begins to
form on top. Baste. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and let the lamb bake for 2
hours, basting about each half hour.

After 2 hours, skim off the grease and cook another half hour. Add equal portions of wine
and water as needed.

At the end of the cooking time, remove lamb to a hot platter. If juices have concentrated
too much add a little more wine. In the meanwhile make a flour and water paste. Put in a
separate saucepan 3 tablespoons of flour and a couple of pinches of salt. Start mixing
this well with dripping cold water. Keep whipping constantly as the water is added, until
it has a creamy consistency. Into the juices of the roasting pan stir the flour paste
slowly, until the juices are thickened. The gravy should be thicker than the average gravy
as the Mint Sauce to be added will thin it. When gravy is smooth, add Mint Sauce and stir
thoroughly.