Leg of venison with lavender

Preheat oven to 160 ºC. Make rows of incisions all over the leg, each about 6 cm deep. Insert slivers of garlic into the first row and pieces of lavender into the second. Repeat until all the holes are filled. Cover the leg with rashers of bacon, overlapping each slightly, and secure with cocktail sticks. Place the leg in a deep oven pan and surround with the onions. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours until tender. (Remove the bacon 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time and chop finely.) Reset the oven to 200 ºC and brown the leg. Remove from the oven and place in the warming drawer for about 20 minutes. To the pan juices add a little boiling water, red wine to taste, 5 ml (1 t) quince preserve and a few sprigs of lavender. Cook until thickened and the flavours have developed. Thicken with cornflour. Serve the leg with oven-roasted vegetables and gravy.