Braised Leg of Lamb in Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped red onion*
• 2 cups red wine
• 2/3 cup chopped carrot*
• 1 cup chopped celery*
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled*
• 2 bay leaves*
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary or ½ tsp dried rosemary, crumbled*
• 2 1/2 lb (1.25 kg) boneless leg of lamb
• 1 tbsp canola oil

Directions

1. To prepare marinade, combine all ingredients except lamb and oil in a large heavy zip-lock plastic bag.
2. Add lamb and squeeze bag to coat lamb with marinade. Seal bag and place on a tray. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
4. Remove lamb from marinade; reserve marinade, thyme, bay leaves and rosemary.
5. Heat oil in a large deep non-stick frypan over medium heat. Add lamb and brown on all sides. Transfer lamb to a roasting pan; set aside.
6. Add marinade, thyme, bay leaves and rosemary to same frypan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
7. Pour hot marinade over lamb in roasting pan.
8. Bake, covered, until a meat thermometer registers 135ºF, about 1 1/4 hours.
9. Transfer lamb to a platter and cover with foil; reserve drippings. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. The internal temperature will continue to rise during standing. The final temperature should be 145ºF for medium-rare lamb.
10. Meanwhile, to prepare sauce, place drippings in a large deep non-stick frypan over medium heat; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 10 – 15 minutes.
11. Strain sauce through a large strainer into a large heatproof bowl; discard solids.
12. Pour sauce into a serving dish and serve immediately with lamb.