Recipe for spiced confit lamb with mogette bean ragout

This delicious recipe for spiced confit lamb with mogette bean ragout – Gigot d’agneau confit aux épices, mogettes – from the Ferrandi School of culinary arts takes time and attention to prepare but it’s oh so worth it.

Serves 8
Active time: 2 ½ hours
Cooking time: 2 ¾ hours
Chilling time: At least 3 hours (preferably overnight)
Storage: >3 days

EQUIPMENT

Fine-mesh sieve
Steam oven (or steamer)

INGREDIENTS

1 leg of lamb
1 tbsp (8 g) ground cumin
1 tbsp (6 g) ras el hanout
1 tbsp (8 g) pimentón de la Vera
Scant ½ cup (100 ml) olive oil
2 white onions
1 head garlic
About 3 qt. (3 litres) lamb stock (fond d’agneau)

Mogette bean ragout
1 carrot
½ head garlic
1 onion
3 whole cloves
4 ½ lb. (2 kg) dried Mogette white beans, soaked overnight
About 4 qt. (4 litres) water
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

To serve

20 slices lardo di Colonnata (Italian cured pork fat)
8 whole piquillo peppers
A few Thai basil sprigs
A few leek sprouts

METHOD

Preparing the lamb

Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C/Gas Mark 3). Rub the leg of lamb with the cumin, ras el hanout, and pimentón. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and slowly caramelize the meat on all sides. Peel and thinly slice the onions and add them to the pan, along with the garlic separated into cloves. Cover, place in the oven, and cook for 30 minutes. Pour in the lamb stock and continue to cook, covered, for at least 2 hours, or until the meat is tender, basting it regularly with the pan juices. When the lamb is cool enough to touch but still warm, carefully remove the bone using a chef’s knife. Roll the meat tightly in plastic wrap, shaping it into a cylinder with a diameter of 2 ½–3 in. (6–8 cm). When cool, chill for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight). Strain the pan juices through the fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan and reduce to a glaze, skimming any excess fat from the surface. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Preparing the Mogette bean ragout

Peel and finely chop the carrot and garlic. Peel the onion and cut it in half. Finely chop one half and stick the cloves in the other half. Place the carrot, garlic, and onion in a large Dutch oven. Drain the beans and add to the pan, then pour in the 4 qt. (4 litres) water. Cook over low heat until the beans are tender (about 40 minutes–1 hour; follow the package instructions). Drain the beans and stir them together with the parsley and half the lamb juices.

To serve

If using a steam oven, preheat it to 185°F (85°C/Gas on lowest setting). Cut the lamb cylinder into approximately 1¼ in. (3-cm) slices and reheat in the steam oven, or steamer, for 10 minutes. Submerge the lamb slices in the remaining pan juices to glaze them. Serve family-style in an attractive pan, such as a copper casserole. Place the bean ragout in the pan, then top with the lardo di Colonnata, piquillo peppers, and glazed lamb slices. Garnish with a few Thai basil sprigs and leek sprouts.

Extracted from Meat, Poultry & Game : Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts by FERRANDI Paris (Flammarion, 2025).