Braised Lamb Shanks with White Beans

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This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. The host will be Truffle from What's on My Plate. The blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen.

This dish is a modern rendition of osso buco, the classic Italian specialty of braised veal shanks. Here the shanks are served with white beans, instead of the more traditional risotto. The lemon-and-parsley is called gremolata (although a traditional gremolata would would also contain some anchovies).

Because the beans need time to soak it is best to start this dish the day before you plan on serving it.

This recipe was originally from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook - Italian Favorites.

1 1/2 cups dried white beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 lamb shanks (about 1/2 lb each)
2 red onions cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 large carrots, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
sea salt freshly
ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh Italian parsley

Pick through the beans, discarding any bad ones. Rinse the beans. Pl;ace in a bowl, add cold water to cover, soak for 12 hours or over night.

Drain the beans and place in a saucepan. Fill with water so that there is at least 2 inches of water about the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, simmer uncovered until tender (45 - 60 minutes). Drain and set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium heat, warn the olive oil. Add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides - 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the opinions and carrots to the pot and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add the wine, stock, tomato paste, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Stir well. Return the shanks to the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the shanks are very tender - about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Add the beans, stir well, cover, and simmer gently over low heat until the lamb begins to fall off of the bones, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, stir together the lemon zest and parsley. Transfer the lamb and beans to individual plates and garnish with the lemon/parsley gremolata. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Comments

[Kalyn]

Sounds really delicious. I've only had lamb shanks in restaurants, never cooked them.

[Jerry]

Kalyn - I was like that as well. I had a memorable dish of lamb shanks at the Getty Gallery in LA and thought that I would have to try them at home. I almost gave the recipe a pass because the prep took so long. I am so glad that I persevered!

[Robert]

Looks delicious, actually much more appealing to me than osso buco (go on, call me a heretic!).

I find great pleasure in dishes that take time to prepare, just as much as I enjoy baking for the same reason - it is quality time for me and the process of creating a dish that is beautiful to look at and satisfying to eat is incredibly rewarding.

[Katie]

I do love lamb and white beans... the first meal and, with careful planning, the second and possbily third! (The last being a risotto made from the leftover bits)

[Jerry]

Robert - I agree. There is nothing quite like toiling in the kitchen for a day and then truly enjoying the final product!

Katie - I had never thought of a risotto with the leftovers. My lord that sounds good! I shall have to give it a go one of these days.

My problem is that there isn't often much left after we get done with it!

[Peter]

Jerry, the lamb shank looks restaurant grade and your ingredients make it sound delish.

[Laurie Constantino]

Now that is one fine looking piece of meat. Although I love risotto, those white beans really seem like the perfect osso bucco combination. And Katie's suggestion for using leftovers IN risotto is a good one -- rice and beans, how can you go wrong with that! Thanks for a lovely post.

[Jerry]

Peter - they were amazing. In fact . . . I'm getting a craving right now! LOL

Laurie - I confess that I had never really tried too many things with beans before. I can't believe what I had been missing!

[A scientist in the kitchen]

This is delicious! I love beans.

[Jerry]

Scientist - the beans in this dish have an amazing flavour!