Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

• 2  bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon pepper black divided freshly ground
• 6 cups extra wide egg noodles hot cooked uncooked ()
• 1 teaspoon basil dried
• 1 tablespoon flour all-purpose
• 6  garlic cloves sliced
• 1 tablespoon juniper berries crushed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
• 2.5 pound leg of lamb boneless
• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon allspice whole crushed
• 1 cup red wine dry red fruity

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sieve
• slow cooker
• kitchen twine

Directions

1. Unroll lamb; trim fat.
2. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reroll lamb; secure at 1-inch intervals with twine.
3. Sprinkle evenly with flour.
4. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add lamb to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.
6. Place lamb in an electric slow cooker.
7. Add juniper berries, allspice, and garlic to pan; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned.
8. 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.
9. Remove lamb from cooker; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
10. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper to cooking liquid; stir.
11. Remove twine from lamb, and discard. Break lamb into chunks with 2 forks.
12. Serve lamb and cooking liquid over egg noodles.
13. 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
14. 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