Spice Braised Lamb Shanks With Lentils Recipes

EASY BRAISED LAMB SHANKS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, add all the spice mix ingredients and mix to combine.
• Pat the lamb shanks dry and season with the spice mix on all sides.
• In a large Dutch oven pot like this one, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the lamb shanks on all sides (about 8 mins or so). Transfer the lamb shanks to a large tray or bowl for now. Carefully dispose of extra fat in a separate heat-safe bowl, and return the pot to heat.
• Now add the onions, celery, carrots and potatoes. Saute for 5-7 minutes on medium-high, or until the vegetables gain some color. Add red wine, scrape the pot of brown bits. Cook briefly so that the wine reduces a bit.
• Add the broth, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, thyme, and rosemary. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Return lamb shanks back to the pot; press down to submerge. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn heat off.
• Cover the pot and transfer to the 350 degrees F-heated oven. Cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours (It's a good idea to check periodically through cooking just in case you need to add a little more liquid. When the shanks finish cooking, the liquid will have reduced to about 1/3 of what it was when you started.)
• While the lamb shanks are cooking, prepare rice according to this recipe, or prepare 2-3 cups of orzo pasta according to package instructions.
• Serve the lamb shanks hot with a little of the veggies and braising sauce on top of rice or orzo pasta. You might also like to prepare a side salad like this 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad or Fattoush. Enjoy!

LAMB SHANKS WITH DU PUY LENTILS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the lamb shanks, tomatoes, stock, sugar, and oregano in a large baking dish and cover tightly. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the shanks, add the lentils, and bake, covered, for a further 45 minutes or until the lamb is soft.
• To serve, spoon the lentils and shanks onto serving plates and top with the pan juices. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes if you wish.
• Note: Ask your butcher to trim both ends of the shank bones for you.

SLOW ROASTED LAMB SHANKS WITH BRAISED LENTILS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F. Spread onions, celery, and carrots over bottom of large roasting pan. Rub thyme and mint over lamb shanks; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place lamb shanks atop vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over. Roast uncovered 30 minutes. Pour 1 cup chicken stock over lamb and vegetables in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 425°F. Continue to roast uncovered until lamb is very tender and almost falls off bones, adding 1 cup stock to pan every 30 minutes and turning and basting lamb occasionally, about 3 hours longer. Using tongs, transfer lamb shanks to bowl; cover to keep warm.
• Transfer vegetables and pan juices to large saucepan; skim fat from surface. Add remaining 1 cup stock, wine, juniper berries if desired, and bay leaf to saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Strain, pressing on solids to extract as much vegetable pulp and liquid as possible. Return strained liquid to same saucepan; bring to boil. Mix flour and butter to blend in small bowl. Add to saucepan; whisk until sauce thickens slightly and is reduced to 2 cups, about 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Spoon Braised Lentils onto 4 plates. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil over lentils. Top each serving with 1 lamb shank. Spoon sauce over lamb.
• Available in the spice section of most supermarkets.

PERSIAN-SPICED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Trim any excess fat from lamb shanks and season generously with salt. Mix together the cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, rosebuds (if using), black pepper and turmeric. Sprinkle evenly over shanks and rub into meat. Let sit at room temperature at least an hour, or wrap and refrigerate overnight, then bring to room temperature.
• Place a Dutch oven or deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat and add oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. When oil is hot, add 2 lamb shanks and fry until nicely browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside, then brown the 2 remaining shanks.
• Meanwhile, put saffron in a small bowl with lime juice, 2 teaspoons rosewater and 1/2 cup warm water. Let steep for 10 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Carefully remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until softened and lightly colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Season onion with salt, then add lime zest, orange zest, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in saffron mixture. Lay in the lamb shanks and add the broth. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover pot.
• Transfer pot to oven and bake for about 1 1/2 hours, covered, until meat is tender when probed and beginning to fall from the bone. Remove lamb shanks to a deep serving dish and keep warm. Strain braising juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with a wooden spoon to obtain all the liquid (discard thyme, bay leaves and onions). Skim fat, then taste and add salt if necessary. Add 1 more teaspoon rosewater, if desired. Reheat strained juices and pour over lamb shanks. Combine parsley, mint and reserved orange zest and sprinkle over top.
• Use a large spoon to break the tender shank meat into large chunks. Serve in low, wide soup plates, giving each portion a spoonful of the juices. Accompany with steamed Basmati rice, lavash flatbread or a loaf of crusty French bread.

SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHANKS WITH LENTIL RAGOUT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to moderately slow (160c).
• Toss lamb shanks in seasoned flour, heat oil in a large saucepan and brown shanks in batches for 4-5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to a plate.
• Saute onion, carrot, celery and chili in same pan for 4-5 minutes until onion is tender. Stir through lentils, tomatoes water, wine and vinegar and bring to the boil.
• Place the lamb and sauce mixture into a large oven proof casserole dish; bake covered, stirring a couple of times for 1 1/2 hours.
• Uncover and cook a further hour or until meat is almost falling off the bone.
• Stir parsley through and serve over mashed potatoes with green vegetables if desired.

BRAISED SPICED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Grind 1 tablespoon cumin seeds and 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds in spice or coffee grinder. Transfer to small bowl. Stir in remaining cumin and coriander seeds, thyme, rosemary, curry powder, and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup oil. Place lamb shanks in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Rub spice oil all over shanks. Cover with plastic wrap; chill overnight, turning occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add lamb shanks and cook until brown on all sides, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add stock and garlic; bring to boil, cover and transfer to oven. Cook 1 hour; remove from oven and turn lamb shanks over. Cover and continue cooking until lamb is tender, about 45 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer lamb to platter; tent with foil to keep warm.
• Bring liquid in pot to simmer over medium heat. Add potatoes; simmer 10 minutes. Add carrots to liquid and simmer 5 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and asparagus to liquid and simmer until all vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter with lamb. Pour braising liquid into 4-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat, reserving 1 tablespoon. Heat reserved fat in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour; stir 2 minutes. Whisk in braising liquid and tomato paste. Boil until gravy coats spoon lightly, about 2 minutes. Serve lamb and vegetables with gravy.

SPICE-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH LENTILS

Steps:

• Marinade: Combine wine, 1 cup olive oil, coriander, fennel, peppercorns, pepper flakes, whole garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, sliced carrots, sliced celery, sliced onions, ginger, and oranges in a bowl. Add lamb and toss to coat. Divide between 2 large sealable plastic bags and let marinate in refrigerator for 36-48 hours. Lamb: Heat oven to 300o F. Remove lamb from marinade. Scrape off any marinade that clings to lamb, reserving marinade. Heat canola oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Season lamb all over with salt and pepper. Brown lamb, turning occasionally, 12-14 minutes. Transfer lamb to a plate. Add reserved marinade to pot. Cook, scraping up browned bits, 2-3 minutes. Add lamb and stock; bring to a boil. Cover pot with foil and place in oven. Braise until tender, about 2½ hours. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl and set aside. Strain broth, discarding solids. Skim off and discard fat. Reserve lamb and broth. Lentils: Put lentils and 2 cups water into a pot. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Drain and rinse lentils and return to dry pot. Press cloves into onion halves; add to pot with remaining garlic, carrots, celery, and bacon. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are tender, 25-30 minutes. Discard all aromatics (onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and bacon) and return lentils to pot with squash and 2½ cups lamb broth. Cook over medium heat until squash is tender, 4-5 minutes. Add pears and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes parsley, and chives. Cook until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute more. Season the lentil mixture with salt and pepper. Serving: Reduce any remaining lamb broth slightly over medium heat. Divide lentils between 4 large bowls and top with lamb shanks. Drizzle with reduced broth and remaining olive oil.

BRAISED FIVE-SPICE LAMB SHANKS WITH SOY AND GINGER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except the bok choy, oil, rice and scallions in large pot that can later be covered; bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the flavors have melded, about 15 minutes.
• Sauté the bok choy in the oil until tender; stir it into the stew at the last minute and serve over rice, garnished with the scallions.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Pour the oil in a casserole dish or roasting tray large enough to fit all the shanks. With the pan set over a high heat on the hob, spend a good 10 mins browning the lamb all over.
• Remove the lamb, add the onion and carrot and cook for 10 mins until starting to brown. Stir in the herbs and garlic and cook for a few mins more. Stir in the flour and tomato purée, season well then pour over the wine and stock.
• Return the lamb shanks to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid or tightly with foil and cook in the oven, undisturbed, for 1½-2 hrs until lamb is tender. Remove the lamb from the sauce and set aside.
• Put pan back on the hob and bubble the sauce down for about 15 mins until rich and glossy. Pass through a sieve into a jug. The lamb and sauce can be stored in the fridge for two days or frozen for one month. To serve, reheat the lamb in the sauce, adding a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.