Braised lamb shanks
With my busy schedule during the week, I often dedicate Saturday nights for a long comforting meal. With the snowy weather we have been having, I can think of nothing better than a long, slow braise to warm the chill in the air.
Today, I was lucky to grab the last of the locally raised lamb shanks at Lake Land Meats - a great source for local, naturally fed animals. Now, these shanks, although lovely, were enormous! For presentation only, I included a whole shank on the plate....in reality, the richness of the meat was enough for us to share one shank.
The recipe comes from one of my latest purchases, "Bones", by Jennifer McLagan. This book celebrates the use of bones in our everyday cooking - something that has been lost with the fast pace of much of today's central food dogma - cook it fast, eat it faster.
The dish turns out beautifully. The accompaniments that I chose complemented the dish well....so overall, a rather succulent, rich, and oh-so-satisfying winter meal.
Lamb Shanks with Guinness - slightly adapted from "Bones" by Jennifer McLagan
4 lamb shanks, about 12 oz (350 g) each
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
6 medium yellow onions, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 medium fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bottle (330 mL) Guinness beer
1/3 packed cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
4 garlic cloves, halved
1 orange
1) Pat the lamb shanks dry and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the lamb shanks very well on all sides. Transfer them to a plate. Add the butter, and place the onion into the pot, stirring well to coat them in the fat, then cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft, stirring 2 or 3 times and scraping the bottom of the pot each time.
2) Add the carrot, celery, and rosemary and cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot from time to time. Pour in the beer and bring to a boil, deglazing the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the sugar, mustard, and garlic and continue to boil, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes, or until the beer becomes think and syrupy.
3) Meanwhile, remove 4 large strips of zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler, and squeeze 1/4 cup juice from the orange. Add the zest and juice to the pan and continue to cook until the liquid just glazes the onions.
4) Preheat the oven to 300 F. Cut a piece of parchment paper that is the same area as the surface of the Dutch oven. Place the lamb shanks onto the onion mixture, and place the parchment paper on top to cover the meat.
5) Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place in oven for 3 hours.
Makes 4 servings.
Cauliflower Puree - adapted from "Ricardo: Meals for Every Occasion" - Ricardo Larrivee
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup skim milk
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
In a large pot, melt butter over med-high heat. Add onions and saute to soften. Add garlic, cauliflower and milk. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is very tender.
Transfer entire mixture to a food processor, and process to puree. Season very well with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Serves 4
Roasted Squash Ribbons - "French Taste" - Laura Calder
1 medium butternut squash, about 1 lb
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
fresh bay leaves
fresh thyme sprigs
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Wash outer skin of squash, cut down the center, and remove seeds.
Slice squash into half moons, about 1/2 inch thick.
Place half moons into a bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place onto a baking sheet, tuck in herbs, and dot with butter.
Slide sheet into oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes. Turn squash over, return to oven, and roast another 30-40 minutes or until very tender, and they begin to shrivel a bit on the ends.
Serves 4
***Original recipe suggests roasting at 400 F for 30-40 minutes, turning once half way through the cooking time. However, I have adjusted the heat and time to coincide with the lamb shank recipe.
Today, I was lucky to grab the last of the locally raised lamb shanks at Lake Land Meats - a great source for local, naturally fed animals. Now, these shanks, although lovely, were enormous! For presentation only, I included a whole shank on the plate....in reality, the richness of the meat was enough for us to share one shank.
The recipe comes from one of my latest purchases, "Bones", by Jennifer McLagan. This book celebrates the use of bones in our everyday cooking - something that has been lost with the fast pace of much of today's central food dogma - cook it fast, eat it faster.
Lamb Shanks with Guinness - slightly adapted from "Bones" by Jennifer McLagan
4 lamb shanks, about 12 oz (350 g) each
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
6 medium yellow onions, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 medium fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bottle (330 mL) Guinness beer
1/3 packed cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
4 garlic cloves, halved
1 orange
1) Pat the lamb shanks dry and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the lamb shanks very well on all sides. Transfer them to a plate. Add the butter, and place the onion into the pot, stirring well to coat them in the fat, then cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft, stirring 2 or 3 times and scraping the bottom of the pot each time.
2) Add the carrot, celery, and rosemary and cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot from time to time. Pour in the beer and bring to a boil, deglazing the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the sugar, mustard, and garlic and continue to boil, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes, or until the beer becomes think and syrupy.
3) Meanwhile, remove 4 large strips of zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler, and squeeze 1/4 cup juice from the orange. Add the zest and juice to the pan and continue to cook until the liquid just glazes the onions.
4) Preheat the oven to 300 F. Cut a piece of parchment paper that is the same area as the surface of the Dutch oven. Place the lamb shanks onto the onion mixture, and place the parchment paper on top to cover the meat.
5) Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place in oven for 3 hours.
Makes 4 servings.
Cauliflower Puree - adapted from "Ricardo: Meals for Every Occasion" - Ricardo Larrivee
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup skim milk
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
In a large pot, melt butter over med-high heat. Add onions and saute to soften. Add garlic, cauliflower and milk. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is very tender.
Transfer entire mixture to a food processor, and process to puree. Season very well with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Serves 4
Roasted Squash Ribbons - "French Taste" - Laura Calder
1 medium butternut squash, about 1 lb
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
fresh bay leaves
fresh thyme sprigs
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Wash outer skin of squash, cut down the center, and remove seeds.
Slice squash into half moons, about 1/2 inch thick.
Place half moons into a bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place onto a baking sheet, tuck in herbs, and dot with butter.
Slide sheet into oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes. Turn squash over, return to oven, and roast another 30-40 minutes or until very tender, and they begin to shrivel a bit on the ends.
Serves 4
***Original recipe suggests roasting at 400 F for 30-40 minutes, turning once half way through the cooking time. However, I have adjusted the heat and time to coincide with the lamb shank recipe.
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