Lamb Braised In Pomegranate Food

BRAISED MOROCCAN LAMB SHANKS WITH POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Let lamb come to room temp (unwrap on counter 20-30 mins) and season lamb generously with kosher salt.
• Heat oil in an extra large heavy bottomed Dutch oven. Working in batches, sear the lamb shanks on all sides over medium high (or medium) heat. Take your time here and do this well. Set the shanks aside. Drain the oil.
• Add the water to the same pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer 3-4 minutes. To the water, add onion, garlic, fennel, beet, orange peel, herbs and spices and salt to the pan and stir until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, and gently simmer until alcohol cooks off, another 5 mintues. Add the pomegrantate juice, chicken stock and maple syrup, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
• nestle the lamb shanks down in the liquid,on their side, meaty side down, bring to a simmer on the stove, then cover well, and place in a 325 F for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours or until meat is tender (internal temp 195-205F) Keep in mind that larger shanks will take longer to cook, smaller shanks, less time, so if in doubt, check at 1 1/2 hours- add more time if not tender. Basically, meat will get more tender as it braises, but you may need to add more broth or stock if using big shanks. So check liquid level.
• When shanks are tender, remove from pan, rest on a platter or baking dish in a warm spot like the stove top 20-30 minutes. While resting make the sauce.
• Make the sauce. Strain the braising liquid. If making ahead, you could let this cool in the fridge to allow more fat to separate (it will rise and harden) or skim off warm fat with a ladle. Place 1 1/2 cups, skimmed braising liquid in a small sauce pan and simmer, reducing just until it tastes flavorful. It really doesn't need to reduce until "thickened" (see notes) which may result in flavors getting too salty or condensed. Add a little splash of vinegar. Season it with salt and pepper. Sometimes I'll add a little squeeze of orange juice. Up to you.
• the lamb shanks on a platter, spoon the flavorful sauce over top, garnish with fresh pomegrante seeds and a few sprigs of rosemary.
• the lamb shank over the polenta or couscous, spoon the flavorful sauce overtop. Garnish with fresh pomegrate seeds. Fresh parsley is nice here or a sprig of rosemary, something green. ????

PULLED LAMB SHOULDER WITH STICKY POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Put the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano and lemon in a blender with 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper. Blend until smooth. Put the lamb in a large roasting tin and tip the marinade over the top. Massage all over the lamb and leave for 24 hrs in the fridge, or up to 2 days.
• Remove lamb from the fridge 1 hr before cooking. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Scatter the onions around the lamb, tucking some underneath, then pour over the pomegranate juice. Cover the lamb with foil and cook for 4 hrs.
• Remove the foil, carefully pour the meaty pomegranate juices from the tin into a large saucepan and add the honey. Increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7, re-cover the lamb and continue cooking for 30 mins. Meanwhile, bubble the cooking liquid over a high heat until reduced, thick and syrupy - this may take up to 30 mins.
• Pour the sticky pomegranate glaze over the lamb and onions and return to the oven for another 30 mins, uncovered, until the glaze is bubbling and just starting to char, and the lamb is really tender. Mix the yogurt, most of the pomegranate seeds and mint leaves in a small bowl. Shred the lamb at the table and serve with the sticky onions and the minty pomegranate yogurt. Scatter over the remaining pomegranate seeds.

LAMB BRAISED IN POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Generously season lamb chops with salt and black pepper.
• Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Place lamb chops in Dutch oven and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer lamb to a plate and reduce heat to medium.
• Stir onion and a pinch of salt into the Dutch oven; cook until onions are slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Pour pomegranate juice into the Dutch oven and scrape any browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Pour in balsamic vinegar, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil.
• Stir rosemary, mint leaves, and red pepper flakes into pomegranate juice mixture. Continue to boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Return lamb and any accumulated juices to Dutch oven, spoon pomegranate mixture over lamb, and cover.
• Cook in the preheated oven until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Transfer lamb to a plate and set Dutch oven on the stovetop over high heat. Bring pomegranate mixture to a boil; cook, skimming any fat that accumulates, until liquid is reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in honey and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Return lamb to the Dutch oven; stir to combine. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, sliced mint leaves, and pumpkin seeds.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Toss in 2 of the garlic cloves and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to medium-high heat. When the garlic is golden and very aromatic, remove it and discard--it has fulfilled its garlic destiny.
• Season the chicken thighs with salt and place them skin side down in the pan. Don't crowd the pan or the thighs will steam instead of brown--you may have to work in batches here, no worries. Brown the chicken thighs really well on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes total.
• Transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through.
• Ditch the oil from the pan and add 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup of the pomegranate molasses along with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, scraping the mixture from the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it evaporate by half--it should be slightly thick and syrupy. Season with salt.
• Return the chicken to the pan, along with the juices from the sheet pan, scraping up any bits. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook in the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until the sauce thickens and it clings to the chicken in a yummy embrace.
• While the chicken roasts, add the remaining molasses, stock, and garlic to the pan along with the thyme bundle and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Taste and season with salt if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer (BTB, RTS). Cook until the liquid is thick and syrupy. Discard the garlic cloves and thyme bundle.
• Remove the chicken from the oven, transfer to a serving dish, drizzle with the sauce, and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and chives before serving.

POMEGRANATE BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• In a pan toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds until fragrant, approximately 5-6 minutes on medium heat. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind until powdery, set aside with the remainder of the spices.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or braising pot on medium-high heat. Season the lamb shanks with the kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Add the vegetable oil and olive oil to the pre-heated pot, then working in batches so as to not overcrowd begin searing the lamb shanks until deeply browned on all sides, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Once all of the lamb shanks have been browned, remove from the pot and set aside. Drain off any excess fat from the pot, there should only be just enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pot.
• Turn the heat down to medium and add in the onions, celery, carrots, smashed garlic cloves and tomato paste. Stir, cover with a lid and allow to cook until the vegetables have softened and browned, approximately 7-10 minutes.
• Add in the spice mix (bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, ground coriander, ground fennel, ground cumin, chili flakes, thyme sprigs) and cook for 2 minutes stirring regularly.
• Add in the beef stock, pomegranate syrup, and browned lamb shanks. Bring to a rolling simmer, cover with a lid and cook the lamb shanks for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, flipping the lamb shanks half way through. Skim any excess fat that rises to the top while braising.
• After 1 1/2 - 2 hours the meat should be able to pull away from the bone easily but not falling apart. Carefully remove the lamb shanks from the pot and set aside. Pass the entire braising liquid mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another large pot. Discard all strained off braising ingredients at this point. The sauce should be smooth and deep brown in color.
• In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water and mix until even (this is known as a "slurry"). Bring the strained braising sauce to a boil and add in the cornstarch slurry mixture half at a time until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon without running off, it should be a loose gravy consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Add the lamb shanks back into the finished sauce and heat through.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the pomegranate seeds, mint leaves, parsley leaves and dill, toss gently to combine. To serve the lamb shanks, serve straight from the braising pot or transfer to platter and top with the pomegranate-herb salad.

SLOW BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF.
• Season the lamb shanks generously with salt and pepper. Brown the lamb shanks in a large, deep oven-proof pot/pan until well-browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• In the same pan, fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the herbs and tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds before adding the red wine and stock. Allow to come to a simmer then add the lamb shanks back into the sauce.
• Cover with a lid and place in the oven. Allow to braise slowly for 2-3 hours until the lamb is soft and succulent. Check on the lamb shanks half-way through cooking and add more stock if necessary.
• Remove from the oven and serve.

BRAISED LAMB IN POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Heat oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add all lamb bones and cook until brown, turning often, about 15 minutes. Transfer bones to plate. Season lamb with salt and pepper and dredge thoroughly in flour. Add to pot and cook until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate with bones.
• Add onions and garlic to pot and cook until onions are just golden, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Return lamb to pot. Arrange bones around lamb. Stir in stock and next 7 ingredients. Bring liquid to boil. Baste top of lamb. Cover; bake until lamb is tender when pierced with long sharp knife, turning once, about 2 hours 15 minutes. Cool; cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove fat from surface of lamb and cooking liquid. Transfer lamb to platter. Remove string from lamb. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange in shallow baking dish.
• Bring pan juices to boil. Remove bones and discard. Strain pan juices, pressing hard on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Melt margarine in same pot over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and stir until mixture begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in pan juices and boil until sauce is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over lamb. Cover with foil and bake until lamb is heated through, about 25 minutes. Arrange lamb on platter. Spoon sauce over. Garnish with parsley.

ROAST LAMB WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Place the lamb in an oven-proof roasting dish. Using a small sharp knife, score the fat of the lamb in a diamond pattern to help the glaze stick to it. Rub the chopped garlic into the meat and fat.
• Mix the cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper well and use it to season the meat, then mix 2 Tbsp of the pomegranate molasses and water and pour over the meat. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Remove the meat from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Pre-heat the oven to 160C (150C with fan). Chop the onions and scatter in the base of the roasting dish with the lamb, tucking some under the meat as well. Pour over the pomegranate juice.
• Cover the meat tightly with foil and roast for 3 hours, then remove the foil and carefully pour the meaty pomegranate juices from the tin into a large saucepan and add the other 2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses. Increase oven to 220C (200C fan), cover the lamb with foil again and continue cooking for 30 mins while you reduce the glaze.
• Add the other 2 Tbsp of pomegranate molasses to the cooking juices in the saucepan and boil over high heat until the liquid reduces and starts to get sryupy, which could take up to 30 minutes.
• Remove the lamb from the oven and remove the foil. Pour the syrupy pomegranate glaze over the lamb and onions and return to the oven for another 30 mins, uncovered, until the glaze is bubbling and just starting to char.
• Sprinkle 2/3 of the pomegranate arils over the cooked meat and serve with a herby side salad of mint, flat leaf parsley, watercress and the rest of the pomegranate arils.