This dish is that in spades. The foundation is fresh (ideally from a local farmer) Spring lamb, well-flavored but not at all gamey.
The preparation is simple and straightforward, with lots of room to play. And the presentation is simply stunning!
Best of all, it’s one of those recipes that easily scales up and down, so you can make it for two or twelve (assuming you have big enough pots).
Ingredients
- 6 fresh Spring lamb shanks
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2″ diagonal chunks
- 2 medium onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2″ diagonal pieces
- 7 garlic cloves, minced (one per shank, plus one for the pot)
- 1 cup good red wine
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
- 3-4 cups chicken or beef broth
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
- Kosher salt; fresh pepper
- Olive oil (30 Weight is perfect here)
Preparation
Season the shanks with salt and pepper a few hours before cooking and let rest.
Heat a glug of olive oil, on high, in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven big enough to hold the shanks in one layer. Working in batches, brown the lamb on all sides and set aside. Pour off any remaining oil, then pour in the wine, scraping up the bits from the bottom. Pour off liquid and reserve.
Reduce the heat to medium, and add another glug of oil. When it is starting to get hot, sauté the carrots, onions, and celery until softened, then add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme and cook another couple of minutes.
Stir in the reserved wine plus the broth, and return the shanks to the pot, nestling it in the vegetables. Bring up to a simmer, then cover it, leaving the lid slightly ajar.
Cook for an hour on the stove top, or in a 300ºF oven. Keep a sharp eye to make sure the liquid doesn’t go above a gentle bubble. Rotate the shanks so that all sides spend time in the liquid.
Cook for another hour, testing the meat periodically to see when it is fork-tender. If it needs more time, rotate again and keep going. (The size of the shanks will determine how long it needs to cook.)
If time permits, make this a day ahead, let it cool, and allow the lamb to rest in its broth in the fridge. The flavors meld together wonderfully, and it makes it easy to remove any residual fat if you are so inclined.
Serving
Serve a shank per person, with a generous ladle of the juices, on warm plates, over mashed potatoes or simple polenta.
The bright green of fresh, lightly blanched asparagus spears is visually stunning and a great companion; broccolini works well, too. Offer some crusty bread to sop up the juice!
For wine, you’ll want a rich red with good acidity and nice fruit tannins. We lean towards bigger Sangioveses like our Hawk Mountain Estate, but it will happily pair with our Sagrantino as well.