Recipe for Lamb with Flageolet Beans
This recipe is ideal for cooking for a large group of people, so it is perfect for our pop-up cafe – slow, rich and frugal, the casserole can just sit in the warmth until you are ready to eat it and it also freezes really well. The dish is ideal served with buttery, hot green vegetables, like spring greens or cabbage.
Remember to soak the flageolet beans overnight and rinse them well before cooking. You need to start the recipe the night before.
Ingredients to serve 4 people
1kg lamb neck fillets, trimmed and cut into 2cm rounds
2tbps. Olive oil
250g flageolet beans, soaked for 24 hours and rinsed
2 onions, chopped into thin rounds
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
25g plain flour
600m water
A bouquet garni – thyme, rosemary, hyssop and bay are all good
250g plum or cherry tomatoes
Sea salt and black pepper
Method
Heat some oil in a heavy casserole and brown the lamb till caramelised in batches. Remove the lamb from the casserole and set aside on a warm platter.
Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees C.
Add more oil to the casserole and saute the onions and garlic. Add black pepper and stir. Cook till the onions are soft. Add the flour and stir well again.
Add the water gradually, stirring as you go along. Return the browned lamb meat to the casserole and add the bouquet garni and the soaked, drained beans.
Bring the contents of the casserole up to simmering point. Place a lid on the casserole and then place in the heated oven for 1.5 hours {the cooking time depends on the age of the animal – for young lamb you can cook the meat a bit less}.
Add the tomatoes to the casserole as well as sea salt, stir well and cook for another hour.
Before serving remove the bouquet garni. Taste for seasoning.