Lamb shanks with rosemary, red wine and a head of garlic.
Rosemary comes to the fore in this highly aromatic dish which will have family, friends, neighbours, random people passing by your front door etc swooning, because of the aroma. A whole bottle of red wine and a dozen cloves of garlic makes it irresistibly rich. Carrots add a further sweet dimension.
It's easy. The hardest part is battling the wet weekend crowds to get to the butcher for the shanks.
Place six lamb shanks in a plastic bag with a tablespoon of flour and salt and pepper. Brown them three ate a time in olive oil a heavy pot.
Remove browned shanks to a bowl and place two chopped onions, three carrots chopped into fat rounds and twelve minced garlic cloves in the pot. Turn the heat down and sweat them for about ten minutes.
Now add: a bottle of red wine (not the Grange or Hill of Grace - a Lindeman's Bin line is fine); two cans of tomatoes; three cups of chicken stock; a tablespoon of fresh rosemary and half a tablespoon of chopped thyme.
Take a moment to savour the emerging aroma.
Return the shanks to the pot. Yes, it does need to be a big pot.
Bring to boil, turn the heat down, put the lid on the pot and simmer for a couple of hours. Then simmer with the lid off until meat is about to fall off the bone, about another half hour. Transfer shanks to covered platter. Turn up the heat under the pot and boil the juices until thickened, ten to twenty minutes.
Serve shanks on a bed of mashed potato into which you have folded shards of black olives and flecks of anchovy; pour sauce over the top; creamed spinach and white beans on the side.
Now's the time to open the Grange or Hill of Grace. If your hand falls on an unopened Lindeman's Bin, you've poured the Grange into the stew.
Which means the dog doesn't get the leftovers.
Rosemary comes to the fore in this highly aromatic dish which will have family, friends, neighbours, random people passing by your front door etc swooning, because of the aroma. A whole bottle of red wine and a dozen cloves of garlic makes it irresistibly rich. Carrots add a further sweet dimension.
It's easy. The hardest part is battling the wet weekend crowds to get to the butcher for the shanks.
Place six lamb shanks in a plastic bag with a tablespoon of flour and salt and pepper. Brown them three ate a time in olive oil a heavy pot.
Remove browned shanks to a bowl and place two chopped onions, three carrots chopped into fat rounds and twelve minced garlic cloves in the pot. Turn the heat down and sweat them for about ten minutes.
Now add: a bottle of red wine (not the Grange or Hill of Grace - a Lindeman's Bin line is fine); two cans of tomatoes; three cups of chicken stock; a tablespoon of fresh rosemary and half a tablespoon of chopped thyme.
Take a moment to savour the emerging aroma.
Return the shanks to the pot. Yes, it does need to be a big pot.
Bring to boil, turn the heat down, put the lid on the pot and simmer for a couple of hours. Then simmer with the lid off until meat is about to fall off the bone, about another half hour. Transfer shanks to covered platter. Turn up the heat under the pot and boil the juices until thickened, ten to twenty minutes.
Serve shanks on a bed of mashed potato into which you have folded shards of black olives and flecks of anchovy; pour sauce over the top; creamed spinach and white beans on the side.
Now's the time to open the Grange or Hill of Grace. If your hand falls on an unopened Lindeman's Bin, you've poured the Grange into the stew.
Which means the dog doesn't get the leftovers.
OMG that sounds good. Since I have a burner that loves to go higher when I leave the room, I always bring my braise up to a boil, lid on, in the oven 325. Perfect temp, no babysitting. Don't worry the house will still smell good.
ReplyDeleteIt is raining and cold here now. I even have a few shanks in the freezer....maybe Saturday night.
P.S...there is a new toy in the garage if you check counting sheep
Yum, yum, yum! I love lamb shanks but it will never be cold enough to make them up here. Never mind, it's one more thing to look forward to when we go home.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side of the earth (kind of) our forecast is the same--outs is the end of winter going out though, I guess. I was thinking of some stewish thing for dinner today, and if I can find lamb shanks at the market, this might be it.
ReplyDeleteGroan, please, just a small bowl!
ReplyDeleteMan didn't realize words could make you smell so well!
But it's too warm here.
I was wondering where those delicious smells were wafting from, now I know. Do you ever pinch the shank end when carving a leg of lamb?
ReplyDeleteOh wow that sounds good. Maybe this weekend. Can't wait! My mum used to do lamb shanks... no-one does 'em like her, but I think this could rate right up there.
ReplyDeleteJo, where did he find that beautiful piece of machinery?
ReplyDeleteRDM, I do shanks even when it's hot.
Lucette, I'd rather be on your side of winter, looking at spring.
HalfCups, see my reply to RDM.
Neil - you have struck on my secret. The shank in a roast is the most delicious piece of cookled meat in existence. Tender, gelatinous, flavoursome. Dip it in salt and pepper and swipe it through some mint sauce and you're in heaven.
Anna, I can't get my lamb shank soup to taste anything like my mother's version. How do they do it?
ReplyDelete