Braised Lamb Shanks

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

This picture didn't turn out exactly as elegant as I had wished, but the dish turned out exactly as I had hoped.  There is nothing more succulent than the deep flavored, fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks.  This is also a "man's meal".  If you have a carnivore in your household, make this dish and he will slave away all day in the yard, building fences, creating stalls for your horses, planting gardens--whatever you wish.
Here, I fixed it with Saffroned Short Grain Rice and a medley of Crookneck Summer Squash and Crimini Mushrooms, which I sauteed in a bit of olive oil and butter.

Ingredients:

1 lamb shank per person--this recipe is based on two servings, so double the veggies, etc. for four and so on (they look like something Fred Flintstone would eat, don't they?)

1 onion, chopped

2-3 medium carrots

6-8 healthy sized cloves of garlic

1 10 oz. can tomato paste

2 medium stalks of celery

1/2 bell pepper

Salt and pepper

1/4 bottle Petit Syrah Red Wine (or other semi-dry to dry red wine) (save the rest to drink with dinner!)

Vegetable Stock or Veal Stock (I prefer Vegetable to let the Lamb flavor shine)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, puree the onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and garlic

Season the Lamb Shanks with salt and pepper

Heat about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a very big sturdy sautee pan or Dutch Oven to medium-high on the stovetop (the oil should shimmer but not smoke).

Sear the shanks well on all sides.  Make sure they are really brown on as much of the surface as possible to develop the flavor, and also to render some flavor and bits for the next step--Remove the shanks to another dish on the counter to rest and pour off almost all the fat from the pan; reserve the lamb bits that accumulated in the pan and add a touch more EVOO to the hot pan.

Add the pureed vegetable mixture to the hot pan the lamb was in, and cook them to death on med-med high heat.  Cook them for about 20 minutes at least, and when they look almost burnt, add the tomato paste and cook it about 5-10 minutes more.  You should not be able to taste any rawness or individualized veggie flavor in this mixture--it should all meld together.

Add the wine and some of the stock, and while stirring, let it come to a boil, then add the shanks and snuggle them down into the mixture.  Then add the rest of the stock to cover or almost cover the shanks. Cover tightly, or put the lid on the Dutch oven and transfer to the oven.  Let this cook for at least 2 hours.  This is the easy part, because the longer you let it cook, the better the flavor of the juices develop and the more tender the meat becomes.  Just make sure that the liquid doesn't reduce down so far that the bottom burns.  If the juice becomes too reduced (too thick) before you are ready to serve, simply add more stock--it is that easy!  Do be sure to taste the sauce a few minutes before removing from the oven to test the seasoning, add more if necessary.  This dish also goes well with roasted potatoes and probably potatoes of any kind!

Not Quite a Recipe, But...

I just got back from a trip to our northern home in Alabama.  We had a White Christmas.  It was the first white Christmas in Mentone, AL in recorded history.  That made it all the more special for us.
Pictured at the right is our house.  We have 66 acres on top of Lookout Mountain.  We love it there!
Anyhow, I know this is a cooking blog, but in the first days of this New Year, I wanted to say a few words about how I eat, rather than what I eat in this post.  I hope it will stir up a discussion about a topic I am rather passionate about.
I grew up as an Air Force brat, and lived in Europe as well as several states in this country.  In Europe, people shop much differently than we do in this country.  Refrigerators were scarce, and people went to the market daily.  Small agriculture was the way of life, and you bought your groceries from the people that grew and raised them.  You bought meat from the guy that raised it....you bought vegetables in open markets from the people that grew them.  It was the standard way of life.  We were enlisted (not officers), so by American standards, our family was poor, but the people that we came in contact with daily were the salt of the earth.  They could not have been nicer, or more welcoming, or treated us more fairly.
So I grew up appreciating food.  Nothing was foreign to omy tastebuds, and I was very adventurous.  At six years old, I would walk through the woods, and at lunchtime, someone would invite me into their home to eat the midday meal with them.  They would kill a chicken from their yard, and prepare it right there, or they would have me accompany them into the woods to look for wild asparagus, or mushrooms, or snails (free escargot!! LOL) Then we would prepare what we caught or gathered together, eat lunch, and they would siesta, and I would be on my way.  I met many wonderful people.
I tell this story to give you an understanding of how I came to understand that there are a lot more edible things than most Americans are aware of, and there is very little in this world that will actually kill you.  However, I always was taught what to gather, and what to leave (for instance, mushrooms come to mind--there are some that WILL kill you, so I never collected mushrooms unless an adult was with me to confirm that they were good 'shrooms).
I also gained respect for using the entire animal.  Almost every part of an animal is edible, and most of the parts that Americans discard (heart, kidneys, liver, feet, sweetbreads, membranes, bones, etc.) are quite delicious when properly prepared!
Which brings me to my point.
Americans are starting (through either education or necessity) to question our current "mega-producers"; I think the recent ecoli and salmonella recalls have pricked the collective nerves of our people.
People are also becoming more willing to spend the time to shop at Farmer's Markets, and local butchers, and are taking a little more interest in how their food is produced.
I am thrilled!  I have always been aware of the difference in how we produce our food in America, and have often commplained about lack of taste, or an off-taste to our meats and vegetables, but never could pinpoint it.  Food, Inc. (the movie) should be required watching for every American.  It is available through Amazon.com.  There are also some other movies which are similar in nature to this one, educating us about how our government and the big corporations "feed America and the world".  It is a balanced documentary, in my opinion, although the big corporations have called it a scare tactic.  Watch it and decide for yourself.  You don't even have to buy the DVD.....you can rent it or check it out of most libraries.
I wish people would buy exclusively from Farmer's Markets (or your next door neighbor, or plant your own garden, or buy into a co-op, or a CSA).  And find a local farmer who practices sustainability, humane raising of meats, hormone and antibiotic-free raising of proteins.  And the local small fisherman who practices sustainable fishing.  There are SO many sources out there.  You never have to want for anything. 
I found my sources online, and through networking.  I buy vegetables, eggs, cheese and some proteins (free-range chicken and turkey, some goat meat) at Farmer's Markets.  And I have found two sources of pasture-raised/finished, antibiotic and hormone-free, humanely treated beef, pork, lamb, goat, buffalo, elk, rabbit, pheasant, quail, chicken, and turkey where I can visit the farm, and make sure with my own eyes that what they promise, they deliver. 
It takes a bit of work to find these growers, and to make sure that they are really practicing what they say they are, and you will pay more (per pound) than at the grocery store.  But the payoff is tremendous.  You are eating healthier food across the board.  That food tastes better.  And it takes less to fill you up.  I know this because I live this way.  I didn't always, but I do now, so I know both ways.  I like this one better.  So does the earth.
I hope people will post their own opinions about this!  Momma T--any thoughts?
Here are some links to the places I buy my food:

http://www.southerncomforteventing.com/wrightfamilyfarms.html
This is Wright Family Farm in Rome, GA, which is about 30 minutes from my home in Mentone--

http://www.laurelcreekmeat.com/
This is Laurel Creek Meats, in Maryville, TN.  I buy from them when I am visiting my friends in Tellico Plains. They have a very established farm which offers a wide variety of animals!

http://www.pickyourown.org/gafpfm.php
This is the biggest Atlanta Farmer's Market, right off I-75 just south of Atlanta (exit 237).  I also shop at a ton of small farmer's market in AL, GA, TN and FL.  I love farmer's markets....the open-air ones, not the glorified grocery stores that are high-priced.  Just do a google search for "farmer's market <insert city>".

Also, if anyone has their own favorite spots, feel free to leave a link in the comment page!!