Leg Of Lamb With White Beans - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb dried navy beans (Great Northern)
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine
2 lbs onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 (1 lb) cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained
7 lbs leg of lamb
chopped parsley

Preparation

Rinse and drain beans. In a 6-quart kettle, combine beans with 6 cups cold water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Cover; remove from heat; let stand 1 hour. Drain beans, reserving lequid. Measure liquid. Add water to make 2 quarts.
Return beans and their liquid to kettle; bring to the boil. Reduce heat and cover; simmer gently for 1 hour, or just until beans are tender but not mushy. Place beans in colander and drain. Preheat oven to 325\u00b0F.
Peel 1 clove of the garlic, and crush in garlic press.
Heat butter in large skillet; saute sliced onion and crushed garlic until golden -- about 10 minutes.
In shallow roasting pan, combine cooked beans, onion mixture, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper and tomatoes; mix well.
Pat lamb dry with paper towels; trim off most of the fat. Using a paring knife, make 6 small slits in in flesh. Peel 2 cloves garlic; cut into slivers; insert slivers of garlic in each slit in surface. Sprinkle lamb with the remaining rosemary, thyme and salt.
Arrange leg of lamb on top of beans; insert meat thermometer into the meatiest part of leg -- do not let it rest against the bone.
Roast, uncovered, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or to 175\u00b0F on meat thermometer, for well done. Roast 20 minutes less for medium-well or pink.
To serve: Remove lamb to heated platter or carving board. Allow roast to stand about 20 minutes before carving for easier slicing. With long, sharp knife, cut long, thin, flat slices from leg. Spoon beans around lamb. Garnish with parsley.