lamb shanks

This was very simple but really quite great. The lamb shank is actually a Jamie Oliver method of stuffing lamb shanks with butter and herbs and then baking them in foil with leeks, carrots, white wine and olive oil. I liked the simplicity of the method and the flavor was really incredible. It took just under 2½ hours. I served them with potatoes and Julia Child haricots verts, where they are blanched, pan-dried, then tossed in butter and parsley. It really is the best way - they stay crisp and bright.

lamb shanks with harissa

This is a fairly close following of this food-porn-adelic recipe on youtube. (Watch the video, it's amazing). The recipe calls for two shanks, I used four, but the stew would have been enough for six-to-eight people, so this could work for up to eight shanks. (Leftover, the stew is amazing with an egg poached in it — today's lunch. It's also great on its own, and works as a vegetarian meal).

I used white onion instead of red, didn't have orange flower water (but added some dried curaçao orange peel) and I finished the stew with ras el hanout, which makes everything more delicious.


Vegetables: whole.

And chopped. They get roasted for 45 minutes at 375ºF with olive oil, salt, and pepper.


That gets added to tomatoes, chickpeas (which I pre-soaked and then cooked in chicken stock). I added stock to the roasting pan to get all the fond.


Meanwhile, lamb shanks coated in harissa, my current favorite condiment (I might go as far as my new favorite food).


Plate with couscous. So incredibly good.