Oven Roasted Lamb Shanks With Roasted Tomatoes And Toasted Orzo Food

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 .

OVEN ROASTED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND TOASTED ORZO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat oil in a medium 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.
• Add the celery, carrots,onions and garlic and cook until caramelized. Add the port and red wine and reduce by half.
• Add the chicken stock and shanks and bring to a boil, cover and bake in oven for 2 hours or until tender. Remove shanks, strain and reduce liquid by half.
• Orzo Pasta: Heat oil and butter in pan. Add 1/2 of orzo and toast until golden brown. Add onion and remaining orzo and saute for 2 minutes. Heat a pot of water and add to the risotto as if you were making risotto, a little at a time, until the pasta is al dente. Finish with additional butter and a small amount of the braising liquid, add chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
• Slow Roasted Tomatoes: Toss the tomatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a 200 degree F oven for 4 hours. (Re-hydrated sundried tomatoes will work just as well)
• Roasted Garlic Bulbs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place water and butter in a roasting pan, add garlic heads, cut-side-down, cover and roast for 1 hour.