Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb

Reducing the wine before placing it in the slow cooker gives the dish a more rounded flavor.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces lamb, 1/4 cup sauce, and 1 cup noodles)

Ingredients

• 1  (2 1/2-pound) boneless leg of lamb
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  juniper berries, crushed
• 1  teaspoon  whole allspice, crushed
• 6  garlic cloves, sliced
• 1  cup  zinfandel or other light red wine
• 1  teaspoon  dried basil
• 2  bay leaves
• 6  cups  hot cooked egg noodles (about 4 3/4 cups uncooked pasta)

Preparation

1. Unroll lamb; trim fat. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reroll lamb; secure at 1-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle evenly with flour. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Place lamb in an electric slow cooker. Add juniper berries, allspice, and garlic to pan; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Scrape wine mixture into cooker; add basil and bay leaves. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until lamb is tender.

2. Remove lamb from cooker; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper to cooking liquid; stir. Remove twine from lamb, and discard. Break lamb into chunks with 2 forks. Serve lamb and cooking liquid over egg noodles.

Wine note: With jammy fruit and light tannins, zinfandel makes a great wine for cooking. Choose something you'll relish drinking with the dish, like Francis Coppola Director's Cut Zinfandel 2005 ($22). Bursting with raspberry and cherry flavors, the peppery notes of this wine are a good match for the spicy, herbal qualities of the sauce, while the modest tannins are perfect with leaner red meat. —Jeffery Lindenmuth

Nutritional Information

Calories:

481

Fat:

14.3g (sat 4.2g,mono 6.2g,poly 1.7g)

Protein:

42.2g

Carbohydrate:

43.4g

Fiber:

2.4g

Cholesterol:

155mg

Iron:

5.4mg

Sodium:

408mg

Calcium:

46mg