Lamb Shank Braised with three Bean Ragout

By pattie_d

Ingredients

• 4 American lamb foreshanks
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup guajillo chile powder
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cups veal stock (recipe follows)
• Three Bean Ragout (recipe follows)
• Veal Stock
• 8 pounds veal bones, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• 1 leek, coarsely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered, or 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed
• Three Bean Ragout
• 1/2 cup white beans
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1/2 cup cannellini beans
• 4 ounces bacon
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 8 garlic cloves
• 2 jalapenos
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from americanlamb.com

Preparation

Step 1

Lamb
Mix flour, chile powder, salt and pepper together.Roll the shanks in the flour mixture. In a large roasting pan, heat the oil; sear both sides of all shanks at the same time. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and continue to sear. Add wine, stock, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves; bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2 -1/2 hours, turning the shanks every 15 minutes. Meat should be very tender but stay on the bone. Strain the sauce; reduce by half and add butter.

Serve shanks with Three Bean Ragout, fresh ricotta and a little of the pan sauce. 

Veal Stock
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Arrange bones in a roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Roast in the oven until dark golden brown, about 1-1/2 hours, turning to brown all sides. After the first hour, add the remaining ingredients. Transfer the bones and vegetables to a large (10- to 12-quart) stockpot. Pour off the fat from the roasting pan and deglaze the pan with 2 cups of water, scraping up any particles that stick to the bottom of the pan. Pour this into the stockpot with enough additional water to cover all ingredients by 3 inches. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 4 to 6 hours, skimming the foam as it accumulates on top, and adding water as needed to keep the bones and vegetables covered at all times.

Strain the liquid into a clean pot, pressing down to extract all juices. Reduce this mixture over medium heat until 2 quarts remain. Cool and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days, discarding any hardened layer of fat before using or freezing. Makes 2 quarts.
 
Three Bean Ragout
Pick through all beans, removing any foreign objects. Put all beans in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put a lid on this pot and let beans soak for 6 hours or overnight.

Rinse beans and return to pot, add all other ingredients and cover with water; bring to a boil for 2 hours, adding water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.