Lamb Shanks With Tomatoes And Fresh Herbs Food

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.

OVEN ROASTED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND TOASTED ORZO

Steps:

• For the roasted garlic bulbs:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place garlic heads in a small roasting dish and drizzle each half with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until soft. Let cool slightly and squeeze the cloves of garlic into a small bowl.
• For the lamb shanks:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven until smoking. Season the shanks on both sides with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown on both sides, remove to a plate. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan and add the celery, carrots and onions and cook until caramelized.
• Add the port and red wine and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken stock, thyme, parsley sprigs and shanks and salt and pepper and bring to a boil on the stove, cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is tender.
• Remove shanks to a plate and loosely tent with foil to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a medium saucepan and discard the solids Whisk in the roasted garlic and cook over high heat, whisking occasionally, until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the liquid to use for the orzo and continue reducing the remaining liquid by half again or until thickened to a glaze. Serve the lamb on top of the orzo and drizzle the shanks with the reduced cooking liquid, oven roasted tomatoes and chopped parsley.
• For the orzo pasta:
• Heat a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 of the orzo and toast until golden brown.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, add the onion and cook until soft. Add the toasted orzo and the remaining orzo and saute for 1 minute to coat the pasta with the oil/onion mixture. Bring 8 cups of water or chicken stock to a boil in a medium pot (or a combination of chicken stock and water) and add hot water/stock to the orzo as if you were making risotto, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente (you may not need to use all of the water). Stir in the cold butter and a 1 cup of the braising liquid, chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste and cook 1 minute longer.
• For the slow roasted tomatoes:
• Toss the tomatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a 200 degree F oven for 6 hours.
• Make extra roasted heads to use for garnish on the plate, if desired .

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH TOMATOES AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Pat the lamb shanks dry, season them with salt and pepper, and in a large heavy kettle brown them, 3 at a time, in the oil over moderately high heat, transferring them as they are browned to a roasting pan just large enough to hold them in one layer. To the kettle add the onion, cook it over moderate heat, stirring, until it is softened, and stir in the garlic. Cook the mixture for 3 minutes, stir in the tomatoes, the wine, the broth, the dried rosemary, the allspice, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring the sauce to a boil. Ladle the sauce over the lamb shanks. Braise the shanks, covered tightly with foil, in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until they are tender, transfer them to a heatproof platter, and keep them warm, covered. Pour the sauce into the kettle, cleaned, and boil it for 10 minutes, or until it is reduced to about 4 cups. The lamb shanks and the sauce may be made 2 days in advance, cooled to room temperature, and both kept in the roasting pan, covered and chilled. Heat the lamb shanks in the sauce in a preheated 350°F. oven until they are hot and transfer the shanks to the heatproof platter. Into the sauce stir 2 teaspoons of the parsley and 2 teaspoons of the fresh rosemary. Divide the shanks among 6 heated plates, spoon the sauce over them, and sprinkle it with the remaining parsley and fresh rosemary.

ROSEMARY BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Sprinkle shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate.
• Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
• Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer. Transfer shanks to platter, place in a warm oven. Boil juices in pot until thickened, about 15 minutes. Spoon over shanks.