My Favorite Holiday Feast!

It’s the season for friends, family and food – and my annual tradition is this beautiful leg of lamb, which I learned to make because I cooked with Chef/Cookbook Author Patricia Wells!

That’s me, my wife Alex and Patricia at her house in Provence, and we are leaning on the vintage stove that Julia Child gave Patricia – and I cooked on it…we’ve stayed friends and as always, I dig into her cookbooks for my foodinspiraiton!

Her recipe for Gigot D’Agneau is in this cookbook, so let’s get cooking!

Time To Share An Amazing Holiday Feast!

It’s our annual Christmas Day tradition – a roasted leg of lamb cooked over sliced onion, potato and tomato!

Making “Gigot D’Agneau”, inspired by Cookbook Author and Food Writer Patricia Wells!

As I said, Alex and I got the chance to cook with Patricia at her house in Provence – the culinary adventure of a lifetime!

It inspired me to make her classic roast lamb shank, which is baked on top of potatoes, onion and tomatoes so that the incredible juices from the lamb soak into the gratin!

A Provencal Easter Feast: “Gigot D’Agneau”

Patricia’s recipe for a roasted Lamb Shank is delicious! You cook the Lamb over a potato, onion and tomato base, which forms a terrific side dish!

First, preheat your oven to 400.

Rub the bottom of your roasting pan with a split piece of garlic. I also lay down a dozen slivers of butter to help the potatoes carmelize…then slice your potatoes and lay them down as the base of your dish…

On top of the potato I spread sliced onion…instead of chopped, I like them spread out as rings, and then I add chopped garlic. The amount is up to you…but a head of garlic and one large onion worked for me…

Next, slice tomatoes over the top of the onion – I used three tomatoes total, and I cut them in a larger chunk as they will melt down a bit during cooking – and then I season the dish with a healthy amount of salt, pepper and fresh thyme…

I used a leg of lamb that was just under six pounds. I got mine bone-in, which I think helps the flavor of the meat…Put the lamb shank on an oven rack, which you put directly over the vegetables…season the lamb with salt, pepper and fresh rosemary…

I roasted the lamb for about an hour and fifteen minutes…the thicker part was medium rare and the smaller side of the shank was medium, so it worked well for everyone!

I removed the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for fifteen minutes – then sliced it up for everyone to enjoy…

And here is what that beautiful potato-onion-tomato looked like underneath….

This dish is delicious – the potatoes are caramelized on the bottom – so what side dishes go with this?

Chef Thomas Keller’s Ratatouille!

To honor Patricia Wells and her home in Provence, we served the lamb with several provencal-inspired dishes: first was a Ratatouille, which I made in the style of Chef Thomas Keller…I began by making a roasted red bell pepper sauce, which I spread on the bottom of a gratin dish….

Then I cut yellow squash, green zucchini and eggplant with a mandolin and stacked them on top like this:

I actually enjoy laying this dish out, with the vegetables like casino chips! And when it came out of the oven, it looked like this:

If you want to make this and want a “step-by-step” recipe, just click on my story here:

Finally, I made a dish of provencal carrots and garlic with basil….you sear the carrots in a pan with butter for ten minutes, then add sliced garlic and cook slowly – and fold fresh basil in….guests can top the dish if they want with slivered black olives at the table…

Time To Dig In!

Once plated, the different colors will give your Easter table a festive look….

We served a 2004 Grenache that was signed by the winemaker…we got this bottle when we toured the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine region:

This year, I will make a separate potato side dish as well – because it’s a classic Parisian “potato cake!”

This always gets a huge response when served – click here for the recipe:

There is nothing more fun than tackling a new recipe and having it turn out well – no matter how long it takes:

Yes, this is a “pasta pie”, also known as a “Timpano!”

Here’s what happens after you take it out of the oven:

Well, that’s the hardest part to be sure!

Here’s the entire recipe and how it looked when cut open!

I am sharing and storing all of these recipes on my “food and only food” website as well:

“Bite! Eat! Repeat!” is your site for all things food – like these easy and delicious holiday treats – Caviar Tater Tots!

Here’s just one of the many fun stores you can find there:

If you like what you see, please click on my link and follow this blog as well!

Thank you for following along on my culinary journey. If you like the story, share it with friends on social media!

Happy holidays!

Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food

Tags: bite eat repeat recipes, bite eat repeat webiste, bite eat repeat website, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, bite!eat!repeat!, Bite!Eat!Repeat! webiste, cooking, dinner, food, new Patricia Wells Cookbook, Orange, paris, patrica wells, Patricia and Walter Wells, patricia wells, Patricia Wells At Home In Provence cookbook, Patricia Wells cookbook recipes, Patricia Wells Cookbooks, Patricia Wells cooking class, Patricia Wells cooking classes, Patricia Wells cooking classes Provence, Patricia Wells lamb dish, Patricia Wells memoir, Patricia Wells Provence, Patricia Wells Provence cooking classes, Patricia Wells Provence recipes, Patricia Wells recipe, Patricia Wells recipes, Patricia Wells recipes Lamb, Pixar, Pixar films, provencal adventure, provencal cooking class, provencal cooking classes, provencal lamb, provencal lamb recipe, provencal lamb recipes, provencal potato recipes, provencal recipes, provencal tomato recipes, Provence, Provence food, Provence France, Provence travel, Provence travel adventures, Provence wine, provencial travels, provencial villages, Ratatouille, Ratatouille recipe, ratatouille-a-la-remy, recipe, recipes, restaurants, Seguret, south of France, Stanley Tucci cookbook, Stanley Tucci family Timpano recipe, Stanley Tucci new travel series, Stanley Tucci San Marzano estate, Stanley Tucci Spaghetti alla Nerano, Stanley Tucci Sunday Gravy, Stanley Tucci Taste book, Stanley Tucci Taste memoir, Stanley Tucci timpano recipe, vegetables