LAMB SHANKS WITH WHITE BEANS AND ROSEMARY

It was Father's day and Dad wanted lamb shanks. I had planned to serve fish. In fact I planned the menu weeks ago and even shopped for most of the ingredients.

I was watching T.V. and there were some father's talking about what THEY wanted for their father's day dinner. It dawned on me that I should ask Dad what he wanted. It was Friday evening, two days before father's day. I was sure I knew what he would say to me. "Honey, anything you cook will be wonderful". Nope, wrong, he asked for lamb shanks. LAMB SHANKS?!?!  It's hard to find lamb shanks on a Friday night. Finally after calling four stores I found some. They were huge, but fun to make.

First I browned them in olive oil.

Then I added the veggies, cooked them, and deglazed the pan with red wine. Poured everything on top of the shanks, adding whole tomatoes, stock, carrots, and some fresh herbs.

Put it in the oven for about 3 hours. I served it with roasted broccoli and a caprese salad. They were really good.

Thanks Dad for the great idea!


                      LAMB SHANKS WITH WHITE BEANS AND ROSEMARY

4 meaty lamb shanks

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup dry red wine

½ pound dried Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight

1 can whole plum tomatoes (28oz.) with juice

2 cups rich chicken stock

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

8 oz. Baby carrots or 4 medium carrots, chopped

Sprinkle lamb shanks liberally with salt and pepper, and brown carefully on all sides in a little bit of olive oil (this usually takes about 10 minutes or so). Remove the shanks temporarily and drain the fat, then add to the  pan 1 chopped onion, 5 cloves of chopped garlic, three stalks of chopped celery and sauté just until tender. Deglaze with 1 cup of dry red wine.  Now in the covered pan you will be using, place ½ pound dried Great Northern Beans (either soaked overnight or quick soaked), top with the shanks, pour over sautéed veggies and wine, add 1 can whole plum tomatoes and their juices and 2 cups rich chicken stock along with 2 bay leaves, 3 generous springs of fresh rosemary and 8 oz. or so of peeled baby carrots or 4 regular carrots, chopped.  Taste the liquid and adjust for salt and pepper.  Cover and bake at 350~ for 2 hours or more, until the beans are very tender.  To serve, place one shank on each plate and surround with the beans and some of their liquid.  Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Serves 4

This recipe was adapted from the New York Times Cook Book and Sharon made it as part of our cooking from chapters of this book.