You guys are boiling your buns off down south and back east, but up here we've been a little chillly, and when I woke up to a cold and rainy day last Sunday, I searched the freezer for something braisable. And I found what I needed on the second shelf: lamb shanks!
Great, now what to do? I mentally reviewed my stand-by preps, Asian curried, Lots-o-Onion, and Osso Buco style, and then decided that it would be more interesting to try Something Completely Different. Didn't, I asked myself, that new drooling Daniel Boulud book Braise have a passel of shank recipes in it?
By jove, it did, and though my heart went to the Rogan Josh recipe, I had most of the ingredients on hand to make a version of the recipe on page 78, Lamb Shanks With Walnuts and Pomegranate on hand, and what I didn't have I could fake, so that's what I made.
About my substitutions: I did not have pomegranate juice on hand, so I substituted a 6 ounce can of apple juice for 1 cup of pomegranate. I did not have garbanzo beans, and I made no compensation for that, and I detest raisins so those stayed out, too. I deliberately doubled the fennel quotient by using the quantity of fresh fennel and seeds called for in the recipe-for-four in my recipe-for-two--why waste half a bulb, and I liked the idea of accentuating that feature. Too, I discovered that I'm mysteriously out of tomato paste, so I added two tablespoons of homemade barbecue sauce to satisfy the tomato element and build body. I was good on everything else without a trip to the store.
Since I can only vouch for the version I made, I'll amend Daniel's recipe to include my variations, including scaling the recipe back for two, the number most of us here are cooking for anyway. I served the shanks with a green onion orzotto and topped each portion with oven roasted green beans. Great choices, all.
Wine: since Sunday was the first day of a two-week long celebration here at Chez J (we don't have birthDAYS, we have birthFORTNIGHTS), the cellar was at my disposal, this dish screamed for syrah, and it was about time to see how those 91 Penfolds Granges were coming along, so that was our wine choice. The combination of the spicy, tangy, leathery wine and the spicy, tangy lamb was one of those seamless, transporting combinations we wine-and-food lovers live for.
Here's the recipe:
2 lamb shanks
salt and pepper
1-2 tblsp EVOO
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp sumac
2 medium onion, peeled and sliced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, halved and sliced
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 sprig fresh sage (5-6 leaves)
1 cup pomegranate or apple juice
1 8 ounce can garbanzo beans (optional)
1/4 c golden raisins (optional)
1/2 c raw walnuts, divided
1 tblsp pomegranate molasses
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Season the shanks with salt and pepper and brown in a Dutch oven or saute pan large enough to hold both. Remove shanks to a plate and return pan to medium heat. In the pan, saute the garlic, sage, sumac, red pepper flakes and fennel seeds and cook for about one minute. Then add the onions and fennel and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the juice, garbanzos, raisins, half the walnuts and the molasses. Return the shanks to the pan and bring to a simmer, then cover and move to the oven.
Bake for 1.5-2 hours, turning once after 45 minutes. When baking's complete, remove the lid and turn the shanks again, continuing to cook uncovered until the lamb is carmelized in color and the sauce is thick.
Top with fresh pomegranate seeds if available--otherwise, slice the reserved walnuts and top with those.