Lamb shanks & beans

This is a favorite dish around our house, though my children think.. 'they look a little barbaric Ma, with the shank hanging out of the bowl'. Yes, I guess they sort of do, but they make one fabulous meal.

What's with this awful weather? Uprooted trees, downed power lines and flooding. Once our power was restored, I knew just what dinner would be. So, no Sunday sauce on this dismally raw and rainy weekend--but instead lamb shanks! It'll warm you right down to the bone.



Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans

6 TBLS olive oil
4 lamb shanks
Flour for dredging
Sea salt and white pepper
1 large white onion, diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups San Marzano plum tomatoes, crushed
2 sprigs chopped fresh oregano
3 sprigs chopped fresh thyme
3 sprigs chopped fresh rosemary
2 sprigs chopped fresh savory
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cans cannellini beans or northern white beans, drained & rinsed
fresh parsley

To prepare:

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan.
Dredge the shanks in flour, shake off the excess, and then salt and pepper them. Brown the lamb over medium heat. Once a shank has browned evenly, place it in the roasting pan.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Add about 4 more tablespoons oil to a saute pan, and over medium heat add the onions and garlic. Cook until soft. Then add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, rosemary, savory and the vegetable broth and let simmer for a few minutes. Taste for seasoning and add sea salt and pepper if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks, cover with aluminum foil, and put in the oven for about 3 hours. The meat will begin to fall off the bones. Turn the oven down to lowest setting to keep warm until ready to serve.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of sauce and add it to some cannellini or northern white beans with ground pepper and some fresh minced parsley.

Tobey's weigh in--five minutes old

It's lambing season on many farms this time of year and on a weekend much like this past one, this little guy came into the world on our farm. Winds howling through the barn, no power and he decided to deliver breech. So by kerosene lantern and a little assistance from me he was born healthy along with his two sisters.. triplets! We were going to name him 'blizzard',for obvious reasons :-) but instead decided on Tobias.. Tobey. So, I'm wishing all shepherds a much calmer upcoming weather week and smooth birthings.


Proud Mama Lidia and young Tobias