Hands down this is my favorite dish to make for an big meal. It can go for hours so there is no need to worry about exact timing. Sorry for the lack of a good picture, the last one just didn’t come out. I’ll have to update later.
A friend from work came over last night with her husband. I took the opportunity to do the lamb.
We picked the lamb up last weekend at the Green City Market in Lincoln Park in Chicago. There was a lamb farmer there from Michigan who had beautiful looking organic lamb (Mint Creek Farm).
We had a couple of bottles of great wine with the lamb. The first was called 2003 Worthy Sofia’s Cuvee. It was a gorgeous wine, that really stole the show in my opinion. The second was also a 2003. It was a Estancia Meritage. Perfect for the lamb as well.
The lamb was served over potato pancakes with the braised vegetables on the side. The starter was a mixed green salad using some exotic greens, beets, and carrots from the farm.
This is a luscious, rich dish. It is sweet, sour, spicy, and the meat just melts in your mouth. If you’re looking for a “wow” meal, this is one to add to your list.
Ingredients:
6 lamb shanks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion
1 large fennel bulb
8 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 tomatoes or one can of whole tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 10 oz can garbanzo beans
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup (or so) chicken broth/stock
4 sprigs rosemary
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste
Yields 6 servings
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Set out the lamb shanks for about an hour. Cut the stems off of the tomatoes, place in an oven safe dish. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for at least 45 minutes.
2. While the tomatoes are roasting, start prepping. Slice the vegetables and measure eveything out. Slice the onion, fennel and garlic thin. Mince the ginger.
3. Generously salt and pepper the lamb shanks. Add olive oil to the bottom of a large Dutch oven and heat to smoking over high heat. Add the lamb shanks and brown well on one side (about 5 minutes), lower heat to medium, turn the lamb over and brown the other side for about 5 minutes. Remove lamb from the Dutch oven and set aside.
4. Add garlic and ginger to the remaining oil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add onion and fennel. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Remove tomatoes from oven. Lower temperature to 250F. Add the tomatoes, beans and remaining ingredients except chicken stock. Heat to a simmer, stir to mix well. Place the lamb in the mixture. Add enough chicken stock to cover the lamb completely. Bring to a boil.
6. Cover and place in the oven. Cook for at least 2 hours. Reduce heat to 160 to keep warm until ready to serve. When ready, carefully remove the lamb using tongs. The meat will literally disintegrate. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables. Plate however you like and enjoy.
