Gigot de Sept Heures... Yep, that's seven hour lamb

I've forgotten in which publication I found this recipe but I do know that its author is a fellow by the name of David McMillan. No one will ever accuse you of under cooking this lamb. A very tasty one-pot wonder.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups dry navy beans

• one 5 to 6 pound lamb leg

• 4 cloves garlic, 2 of which are sliced

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 Tbsp kosher salt

• pepper to taste

• 3 onions sliced

• 5 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces

• 2 ribs of celery cut into 2 inch pieces

• 2 bay leaves

• approximately 2 cups water

• 1 Tbsp tomato paste

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Place the dry beans in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Set aside.

Using a sharp knife cut slits in the lamb leg and insert the pieces of sliced garlic (2 cloves). Combine the olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl and rub the resultant paste all over the lamb leg.

Place the remaining 2 garlic cloves and the vegetables in a roasting pan that is just larger than the leg. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and about 1 cup of water to the pan. Place the leg of lamb on the vegetables and roast for 1 hour at 375 degrees F.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 280 degrees F. Drain the beans and add them to the bottom of the pan along with the tomato paste and return everything to the oven. Continue roasting for another 6 hours or so, checking to make sure the bottom of the pan does not dry out. Add water in half cup increments as necessary.  About halfway through the roasting, grasp the leg by its bone and flip it to ensure even browning. Continue roasting until the lamb is deeply browned on all sides and the beans are tender.