Lunch: Slow-Roasted Andalusian-Style Lamb and Potatoes

Ask for the smallest lamb your butcher has (like those from New Zealand), or buy a 3 1/2-4-pound piece of a leg.

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons kosher salt plus more
4 fresh bay leaves, divided
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (6-8), peeled, cut into 1/4" slices, divided
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1 3 1/2- to 4-pound bone-in leg of lamb
2 pounds tomatoes, cut into 1/4" slices
2 medium onions, cut into 1/2" slices
2 cups dry white wine

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Combine garlic, thyme, and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, rub mixture until it resembles wet sand (larger pieces of garlic will remain); set aside. Crush bay leaves.
Combine half of potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 crushed bay leaf in a large roasting pan; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out potatoes in a single layer.
Place lamb on top of potatoes and rub with garlic mixture. Layer tomatoes, onions, remaining 3 crushed bay leaves, and remaining potatoes around and up sides of lamb, seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzling with remaining 6 tablespoons oil as you go (lamb will be nearly covered). Add wine to pan; cover tightly with foil.
Roast until lamb is very tender, 3-4 hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 425 °F. Roast, turning lamb halfway through, until lamb is golden, 20-25 minutes longer. Let rest in roasting pan for 15-20 minutes. DO AHEAD: Lamb can be roasted 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat before continuing.
Pull meat from bones in large chunks; discard bones and fat. Place meat and vegetables on a platter. Skim fat from surface of cooking juices in pan. Spoon some cooking juices over lamb and vegetables and serve remainder alongside.

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