Slow Shanks (with Lemon & Spices)

I haven’t been around lately (just in case you haven’t noticed). Not only from the food “blogosphere” but mentally and physically too. Various reasons have slowed my world down. It’s been a time of reflection rather than a time of action. A moment to think. Or just read. But I can’t do that forever (as much as the introvert inside me wants to). It is time to wake up and smell the roses. Or smell the coffee, as some would say…


I am finding this family food topic more challenging than I initially thought. Growing up, we probably ate chicken 3 or 4 times a week. On those days we didn’t eat chicken we ate beef. Sometimes there was lamb. There wasn’t much variety when it came to meat in my family. But that’s okay. Now that I’m a big boy and I am free to make my own choices, and I do prefer to eat other animals than the fore mentioned ones.
My way of overcoming the lack of variety is by putting a twist on the old. In this particular recipe I have kept the flavours close to the original so as to not lose the unique nature of the dish but I have changed the cut of meat. Leg of lamb has been substituted with lamb shanks, thus altering the cooking technique from roasting to slow cooking.
Which is good, by the way, because I haven’t had much luck with lamb this spring. I have roasted various cuts, from various sources, but the lamb always turns out tough. It hasn’t made a difference either if I’ve cooked the lamb pinkish, or more well done. Something to do with the Australian drought perhaps? Thirsty animals with de-hydrated meat? Who knows…?
One thing I do know is that lamb shanks are absolutely delicious slow-cooked this way (thirsty animals or not). The flesh becoming absolutely sticky, tender and full bodied in flavour. An abundant use of lemon, pungent garlic, oregano and the aromatic spices is addictive. The aromas that assault the senses are amazing. Not to mention totally mouth-watering and divine.

Components
2 lamb shanks
1 lemon, juiced and zest juliennned
2 garlic cloves (or more), cut into slivers
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
Nutmeg and black pepper, freshly grated
A pinch chili, powder or flakes
Sea salt

Process
Heat the oven to 150c. Pierce the lamb shanks with a sharp knife, here and there. Fill the incisions with garlic slivers. Make certain that they are pushed deeply into the meat, so that they will melt and perfume the meat as it cooks. Place the shanks into a covered ceramic baking dish. Use a baking dish just large enough to fit the lamb shanks without too much space. If you don’t have a covered baking dish, a roasting pan with a couple of layers of tightly sealed foil will suffice. The result however, will be superior if you use a heavy, lidded baking dish.
Drizzle the lemon juice over the shanks.
Sprinkle the salt, oregano & spices over the lamb and rub the shanks ensuring they are well coated.
Sprinkle half the lemon zest over the shanks and cover the dish with its lid (or foil).
Place into the oven for about 2 hours. They are ready when the shanks have become golden and meltingly tender. Allow to rest for about 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle over the remaining lemon zest and cover with the lid for 1 minute. The residual heat will help to release the citrus aroma from the lemon zest. Serve straight from the baking dish, with plenty of bread to mop up the sticky juices. This dish goes well with roasted or steamed asparagus.
Serves 2.

Spicy & Sweet Lamb Drumsticks

It is traditional during Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) to serve foods that are golden and sweet. The gold part is meant to symbolize prosperity. Sweetness represents a pleasant year ahead. There are many other religious points of reference when it comes to food during this time and indeed for Jewish food in general, but that’s about as far as I am willing to go with pious cooking actions.
I’m not Jewish and not particularly religious (though I do study Kabbalah), but I can’t help getting into a celebratory mood and cooking up a feast. In fact I don’t even need a reason. If I want to eat something, I’m going to cook it. And why not? Most people I know celebrate Christmas and Easter. And that includes roast turkeys and chocolate eggs, etc. Yet most of those people don’t go to church or even claim to be Christian. So with that in mind, I don’t feel the need to be Jewish to have to braise lamb shanks for the Jewish New Year either. The fact that it is springtime just makes me want to go on a lamb feast anyway.
This dish is best if you cook it the day ahead (it does take all day to cook). The flavours improve upon standing. Lamb shanks also throw a copious amount of fat during cooking- its much easier to remove the fat, once it has cooled and solidified.
I served these sweet and spicy lamb shanks with saffron rice, chickpeas and sautéed garlicky leafy broccoli- it was one of the best meals I have cooked all year.

Components
4 Lamb shanks
Olive oil or duck fat
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
(Remove the skin if you like- I use a potato peeler)
1 dried red chili, finely chopped
1 tsp Spanish sweet paprika
1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
1-2 pieces cassia bark or cinnamon sticks
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
150ml red wine
400g tin Italian tomatoes
Stock, to cover
Honey, a generous drizzle
Sea salt
Toasted pine nuts

Process
Heat up a spoonful of olive oil or duck fat in pot large enough to hold the lamb shanks. Brown the lamb on all sides and remove to a plate.
Put the onion, garlic and peppers, chili and oregano into the same pot. Lower the heat and cook the aromatics until they have softened- about 15 minutes.
Add the paprikas and cook for a further minute.
Place the shanks back into the pot. Splash in the wine and add the tomatoes too (I don’t bother chopping them). Add enough stock to submerge everything.
Cover the pot and simmer until the meats are tender and almost falling of the bones. It is important to cook everything very, very slowly. And patience is definitely required- mine took about 6 hours to reach the fork- tender stage. It is also a good idea to keep an eye on how the flavours are developing during cooking. You may want to remove the cassia or cinnamon once its reached the right point.
When everything is nice and tender leave it in a cool place until the next day.
When you are ready to serve the following day, scrape away most of the fat (leave some).
Put the pot over a low heat and reheat gradually. This dish needs to be reheated slowly- the meat is dense and takes time to heat through properly.
Once the temperature is right, drizzle over a generous amount of honey to flavour and sweeten the stew. Check for saltiness too.
Sprinkle over with pine nuts and parsley. Serves 4 carnivores.

Reconstructed Lamb Roast Deconstructed

Rebuilding or recreating an object that has been deconstructed sounds impractical. Especially when you intend to pull it apart into smaller pieces again. Complicated? There is method to my madness- trust me on this one.
Mike brought home some very fine lamb chops from the market, this weekend. The chops were from the loin and cut thicker than usual. My original plan was to remove the small bone and tie them with string to turn into “noisettes”. Which is what Mike did to them, upon my request.
But then, I became uninterested with the idea, and I couldn’t get the motivation or find enough inspiration to carry out cooking them. I had decided already to roast some red skinned potatoes, fennel wedges and rosemary stalks with duck fat to serve along side. I also planned to put together a lemony salsa verde to accompany the lamb. Both of those ideas still appealed to me. What wasn’t appealing to me was cooking the noisettes “a la minute”. What I was really craving to eat was a succulent lamb roast, not pan fried noisettes.
So, that’s exactly what we did. Well actually, it was Mike’s idea and he did all the butch construction work of tying together the individual noisettes to reform a loin roast. It was my idea however, to anoint the slices of lamb with salsa verde before rebuilding them together. It worked unexpectedly well. The outcome was juicy and moist lamb meat infused with citrus herbaceous-ness. The fat surrounding the meat was particularly excellent to eat- slightly crisp, meltingly tender and with an unpredictably clean flavour. I have to admit that of all the animal fats, lamb is not a favourite of mine- I often find it overpowering and pungent. But not the fat from this young creature.
I am aware this does sound ridiculous. Why would you buy individual lamb noisettes to then put back together, when you can buy a whole loin etc to roast? This was just one way out of a culinary predicament and it turned out to be an excellent solution. I am not one to usually play about with food. In fact, I hate fiddly kitchen tasks but this is an exception. I would be very pleased to do it again if the outcome was the same.

Reconstructed Lamb Roast with Herbs, Lemon and Nutmeg

Ingredients
5 lamb noisettes, about 600g (of course you can use any amount. That’s just what I had)
Cooking string
300ml rich, homemade meat stock
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice, to taste
A combination of the following fresh herbs, all finely chopped
Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Rocket
Dried Greek oregano
Lots of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt
Freshly ground peppers, both black and white
A pinch sugar

Build your Salsa Verde. Combine the garlic with your chosen herbs. Use the proportions that feel right to you. You can use other herbs. I used this particular combination, because that’s what I had in the fridge and in the garden. Add an appropriate olive oil. It must be green and fruity and of excellent quality. Don’t use an aggressive, peppery oil- this oil is good for other dishes (like bean soups) and it will clash with the herbs in this receipt, making the sauce disagreeably bitter. Again let your taste buds guide you- you can have a thick paste or a fluid sauce. I prefer the fluid kind. Whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt, two peppers and plenty of nutmeg. I like to add a pinch of sugar to my salsa verde. This is not usual practice, nor is the addition of nutmeg. But as the entire dish is a reconstructed /deconstructed affair, you may as well break the rules.
Preheat the oven to 220c.
Anoint the noisettes of meat with spoonfuls of salsa verde. Reconstruct the lamb roast by placing the noisettes together and tying with string. Spread salsa verde all over the reconstructed roast as well. The acidity from the sauce will help the fat to become crispy. Set aside any remaining sauce.
Weigh the roast and calculate the cooking time. For every 500g, roast for 15- 20 minutes. Add a splash of water to the baking dish before placing the meat into the oven.
Remove from the oven. Double wrap the roasted lamb with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
While the meat is resting, combine the juices from the baking dish with stock, and reduce until you have a syrupy jus. Strain into a small jug or a sauceboat.
Unwrap the meat and cut the strings. Obviously the will be no need to cut the meat. Serve with the “jus gras” and reserved salsa verde. Enough for 2 or 3 serves.

The Astigmatic Gourmand

This is going to be an interesting experience!
I am The Gourmand's partner and have (finally) been entrusted with writing on his blog, Eat Me!
The Gourmand has had his eyes checked & the prognosis is that he has astigmatism and needs glasses. Being who he is, he is now looking around for the ideal pair of glasses that will suit his style. And that could take some time. Until then, I guess you will have to put up with my unique and quirky writing style. I'm not one to play secretary and sit on The Gourmand's lap while he dictates a story, so I'll be doing my own thing and writing food related posts.

So what has The Gourmand been preparing since his last post?

Italian Sausages Braised with Bay Leaf, Red Wine and Yellow Peppers. This dish was served with soft White Polenta.

Pork Escalopes Marinated with Basil, Fennel Seeds, Garlic, Rosemary and Sage. These were seared and served with a Cream & White Wine sauce.

Quail Braised with Cardamom, Orange, Plums and Sherry.

Pears with Aromatic Spices and Honey.

Gemfish Baked in a Parcel with Lemon Zest, Porcini, Thyme and White Wine.

Organic Lamb Provencale with Potato and Pumpkin puree.

Chargrilled Lamb with Lime and Mint

Happy religious greetings! Whether that’s Easter or Passover or just an excuse for chocolate...

I am fortunate that I have access to fresh herbs growing in the communal garden of our apartment. Amongst the flowers and vegetables, there is mint in many varieties- peppermint, spearmint, regular mint and Vietnamese mint (rua ram), which is not really a mint. My original idea was Salsa Verde, but the different types of mints on hand allowed me to produce something new. The result was a mix of English Mint Sauce, Italian Salsa Verde and a South East Asian combo of Lime and Vietnamese Mint. A fabulous threesome.

It will make life easier if you ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb. Of course, if you have those skills then you may prefer to do this task yourself.
Quantities for this dish will be dependant on the size of the lambs leg and the amount of people you are feeding.

Ingedients
1 leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

For the marinade
Garlic, finely chopped
Lime zest, julienned
Parsley, chopped
Mint, chopped
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil.

For the sauce
Spinach
Spring onion (or scallion, if you are American)
Mint
Parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch of sugar
Sea salt

Method
Remove the fat and sinew from the boned leg of lamb. Cut the lamb into 3, 4 or 5 equal pieces, depending on the size of the leg. Use a rolling pin to bash the lamb pieces into uniform thickness, to allow similar cooking times.
Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and rub all over the lamb pieces. Cover and leave to marinate for as long as you wish.
Preheat the chargrill to very hot.
Scrape off most of the marinade from the lamb.
Grill the lamb, turning them once, until cooked to your liking.
Whilst the lamb is cooking, prepare the mint sauce. Wilt a handful of spinach in saucepan with a few drops of water, over a high heat. Allow to drain in a sieve. When cool, chop finely. The spinach is used to soften the flavour of the mint- allow your tastebuds to guide you. Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and set aside.
You can prepare the sauce ahead of time, if that suits. I like to make it at the last minute to preserve the fresh flavours of the lime and mint.
When the lamb is cooked and ready, remove to a wooden board and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Cut the lamb into slices 1cm thick.
Serve with the lamb with the Lime and Mint Sauce and a platter of roasted veggies -Beetroot, carrot, fennel, pumpkin and potatoes in Autumn.
If you are reading this and it is Spring in your part of the world, a dish of Vignarola would go perfectly alongside.

Lamb Sausages and Caramelised Onion with Mustard Fruits

My butcher sells sausages of exceptional quality. I am seduced by his heavenly products. Every time I pass by his shop window I cannot resist purchasing the fine charcuterie. Yesterday was no exception..
The sausages I bought contained minced lamb, spices and rosemary He uses no binders or extenders and stuffs them in real intestines
I pan fried them and served them with caramelized onion, streaky bacon and cumin spiced mashed potato.
Mostarda di Cremona (a mixture of fruits preserved in a mustard syrup) was the perfect condiment for this meal.

Ingredients
1 onion, sliced into 1cm rounds
2 rashers of streaky bacon, sliced
15g lard
1 10cm stick of rosemary
1 pinch sugar
1 –2 tsp sherry vinegar
500g lamb sausages
100ml dry sherry
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper.
Plenty of freshly chopped parsley

Method
To cook the onions, put the lard into a wide pan.
When it is melted, add the onion, bacon, rosemary branch and sugar.
Cook very gently for about 30 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then, until the onions caramelize.
Discard the rosemary branch.
Add the sherry vinegar and then remove the onions to a plate and reserve.
Add the sausages to the same pan and brown them on all sides. There should be enough fat to do so. If not, just add a little more lard.
Throw in the sherry, cover the pan and gently braise your sausages for 20 minutes or until tender.
Add the reserved caramelized onions and season.

Sprinkle over with the parsley and serve with mash and mustard fruits. Serves 2.