She's so predictable: lamb shanks AGAIN

I admit it. When I planned to post the following recipe, I wondered if I had ever written about lamb shanks before. In fact I have. More than once. And back at the end of January, 09, I posted a recipe that is somewhat similar to this one. But this one is simpler, and I think better. And then tomorrow... you're gonna get YET ANOTHER lamb shank recipe.

Who can figure? I guess they've become my favorite cut of lamb, at least during the cold weather. I made this one for a weekday dinner. You have to do some planning, because you can't come in the door and have dinner on the table in an hour, but the "work" involved is absolutely minimal, as you will see. And it's really, really good.

First, you need the shanks. Get 4 that weigh about a pound each. Karen, my lamb lady, says that you should always ask for the fore shank. That's the one that's got the rounded end to it. Even sized pieces mean even cooking. If you can, salt them, and sprinkle some pepper on them the night before, and leave them exposed in the fridge. If not, pat them as dry as you can and then season them. Put them aside while you gather your other ingrdients.

Which are.... about half a cup of olive oil ( a scant half cup: 3 ounces in closer), a big onion, or two smaller onions (following up on a comment that a chef left on this site yesterday, my "big" may not be your "big." Don't sweat it). So, too, with the large carrot that you need, which you peel and slice up. You also need a cup of prunes. Now, when you buy dried fruit like prunes, you should take as much care as you do with any other food. Go to a good store, with good volume and get juicy, soft, luscious prunes. You can do it. Then, get a head of garlic - a nice big one, and slice it, horizontally, through the middle.
My original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom. I laughed at that. If you don't look closely, you'll never see the seeds. I tripled this. Don't use ground stuff: I'm talking whole seeds here.
Finally, you'll need three cups of liquid. My original recipe called for 2 cups of beef stock and one of chicken. Honestly, ragazzi, that will work, but I just find that chicken stock thins the flavor of lamb. If you stick to stock, use all beef. Annalena used half beef stock, and half hearty red wine: syrah.

Now, preheat your oven to 350, and get about half of the oil in a big, wide pot. When it's hot, add the lamb shanks, and cook them, at medium to high heat, until they brown. Take your time here. Don't even look for 3 minutes as you move them around. When you've got them browned all over, take them out and put them aside. Put a bit more oil in, and then the vegetables. Lower your heat, and saute' these, until they're nice and brown. Again, take your time: plan on between 5-10 minutes. When you've got nice color, add the rest of the ingredients, and bring it to the boil. At that point, add the shanks, cover the pot, and move it to the oven. Plan to cook this stuff for at least an hour and a half, closer to 2 hours. I like to check after an hour, and turn the lamb, so that it all cooks evenly.

You will wind up with shanks that WILL fall off the bone if you push, but these are not "killer soft," like the recipe we'll look at tomorrow is. You can take the shanks and the other solids out of the sauce and then reduce it, if you like. Pour the sauce, however you work it, over the lamb.

A nice bit of couscous or polenta underneath the lamb is the thing here.

Nice and savory, hot, and a perfect winter meal. Not very hard to do either. GO with it.