Easter Eats: Garlic and Herb-Crusted Lamb

Easter brings to mind chocolate bunnies, hard-boiled eggs, and, oh yes, savory meat dishes. As a self-described "garlic-dish gourmand," it is only fitting that I should christen my first blog post with a luscious lamb entrée shown on MyRecipes that, thrillingly, requires four whole garlic heads! 

Garlic and Herb-Crusted Lamb

Ingredients:
4 whole garlic heads
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
1 (8-pound) leg of lamb
12 fresh garlic slices
1-1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups fresh French breadcrumbs (about 4 ounces)
2-1/4 cups low-salt beef broth
1/2 cup Merlot or other dry red wine
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Cut off top portions of garlic heads. Wrap garlic heads in foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Squeeze garlic heads to extract pulp. Discard skins. Place garlic pulp, mustard, and oil in a food processor; process until smooth. Stir in chives and thyme leaves.
3. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
4. Trim fat from lamb. Cut 12 3/4-inch slits in lamb; place a fresh garlic slice in each slit. Sprinkle surface of lamb with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; rub with roasted garlic paste mixture. Press breadcrumbs over surface of lamb. Place lamb on a broiler pan. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of lamb, making sure not to touch bone.
5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake an additional 2 hours and 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 140 degrees F (medium rare) to 155 degrees F (medium). Remove lamb from rack; place on a shallow serving platter. Lightly cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes.
6. Drain fat from bottom of pan (do not scrape pan). Place broiler pan on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add broth, and bring to a boil, scraping to loosen browned bits.
7. Combine red wine and cornstarch, and stir with a whisk. Add to beef broth and return to boiling. Cook 1 minute or until mixture is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, and serve immediately with lamb. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Serves 20.

--Monsieur Hulot