Spring Lamb Shanks Braised In White Wine Food

LAMB BRAISED IN WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F
• Melt the butter in a frying pan and add a dash of olive oil. Put the garlic and rosemary (or thyme) in the pan and fry for a few minutes on a low heat to flavour the oil and butter. Using a slotted spoon, remove the herbs and garlic and set aside.
• Season the lamb steaks with salt and pepper. Fry the lamb to brown it on both sides. Add the halves of garlic and allow them to colour slightly in the pan. Transfer everything to a roasting tin, along with the reserved herbs and sliced garlic.
• Heat the wine in a small saucepan and then pour it over the lamb. Cover the tin with foil and place in the oven to cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the meat is meltingly tender.
• Once cooked, remove the meat, cover and keep warm. Set the garlic halves aside too. If the liquid doesn't look thick enough for a sauce, strain the wine and cooking juices into a saucepan, squeezing the juices from the rosemary and garlic skins.
• Simmer the juices until thickened. To thicken the sauce even more, you can mix together equal quantities of flour and butter in a small bowl. Whisk this mixture into the sauce and cook until the taste of flour is removed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve the lamb with the baked garlic, mashed potatoes and the sauce poured over.

LAMB SHANK BRAISED IN WHITE WINE WITH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add shanks to hot pan, and brown all sides; this should take about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and add garlic to the pan; cook for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir in onion, and continue cooking until translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Return shanks to the pan, and season with 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in wine, raise heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer until the shanks are very tender when pierced with a knife, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Turn once or twice during cooking, and add water as necessary to maintain original level of liquid. Serve shanks garnished with rosemary sprigs.

SPRING LAMB SHANKS BRAISED IN WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Heat half the oil in a large, heavy, covered casserole or roasting pan, large enough to hold the lamb shanks. Add the lamb shanks, a few at a time, and brown them well on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan, lower the heat and saute the onion, leeks and celery until they are soft and lightly browned. Stir in all but 1/2 tsp of the garlic, then add the wine. Simmer for a few minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Stir in the rosemary, parsley sprigs and bay leaves. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then return the lamb to the pan. Cover and place in oven to bake until the lamb is very tender, about 3 hours.
• While the lamb is baking, mix the remaining 1/2 tsp garlic with the minced parsley and lemon peel and set aside.
• When the lamb is tender, remove it from the pan. Bring the liquid to simmer on top of the stove and taste it for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary. Dissolve the potato starch in the cold water and stir it in to thicken the sauce, then stir in the lemon juice.
• Return the lamb to the pan and baste it with the sauce. Can be prepared in advance and reheated before serving. Transfer the lamb to a platter and spoon the sauce over it. Sprinkle with the minced parsley, garlic and lemon peel mixture and serve.