James Beard's

Got all day and in the mood to cook? This lamb is cooked for hours in a 200°F oven and the result is lamb so meltingly tender you can eat it with a spoon, hence the name! Taken from James Beard's last cookbook before his death in 1985.

• Ready In: 7 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 5 -6  lbs leg of lamb, boned and tied (ask for the bones, and have them sawed into 1-inch pieces)
•  salt and pepper
• 3  medium onions, each stuck with 2 cloves
• 6  cloves
• 3  carrots, split lengthwise
• 6 -7  garlic cloves
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  bay leaf
• 4 -5  ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1  cup red wine
•  chopped parsley (to garnish)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Rub lamb with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
3. Surround with the bones, onions,carrots and 4 to 5 garlic cloves.
4. Pour the olive oil over the bones and vegetables.
5. Roast at 400°F for 30 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to 350°F and roast for 30 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to 200°F.
8. Transfer lamb to baking pan or casserole dish.
9. Add remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper, tomatoes and bones and vegetables from the roasting pan.
10. Rinse roasting pan with the red wine and pour wine over lamb.
11. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast in a 200°F oven for 6 hours.
12. Transfer lamb to a platter and remove the strings.
13. Discard bones and bay leaf.
14. Remove the cloves from the onions and puree or blend all the vegetables.
15. Combine with the pan juices.
16. Serve meat and sauce with cooked white beans seasoned with salt and pepper garlic and basil.