Moroccan Lamb Shanks With Polenta And White Beans Recipes

MOROCCAN BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, chile, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add celery, carrot, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, star anise, and saffron. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until vegetables are soft and fragrant; season with salt and pepper.
• Add chicken stock, tomatoes, apricots, and olives; bring to a boil. Add lamb, making sure it is submerged halfway; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and cook, rotating lamb every 30 minutes, until meat is evenly browned and falling off the bone, and sauce is thickened.

MOROCCAN LAMB SHANKS WITH POLENTA AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Cover beans with cold water in a large bowl and soak overnight, drain Coat the lamb in the flour; shake off excess.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan; cook the lamb in batches until browned all over.
• Add onion and garlic; cook stirring until the onion is soft.
• Add spices to the pan; cook stirring about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
• Stir in the beans, rind, juice, undrained crushed tomatoes, stock and paste and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer covered for 40 minutes.
• Uncover; simmer for about 50 minutes or until lamb and the beans are tender.
• Heat the water and milk in a large saucepan (do not boil).
• Add the polenta; cook stirring about 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and polenta softens.
• Serve the lamb mixture on polenta and sprinkled with combined extra rind, parsley and coriander.

MOROCCAN LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Splash some olive oil into a baking tray and add the shanks. Brown the shanks on a medium-high heat on top of the stove.
• Place the remaining ingredients in the baking tray and combine well with the lamb shanks. Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven for three hours at 160°C.
• Serve with couscous.

MOROCCAN-STYLE LAMB SHANKS WITH POTATOES AND PEAS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a small heavy pot or skillet, and stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, and saffron; then lay in the lamb shanks. Cook for about 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently and turning the shanks over. Pour in enough water to cover, and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grindings of pepper. Cover, and continue to cook over low heat for 1 1/2-2 hours, until the shanks are very tender; check the level of liquid, and add more water if necessary so that it just covers the shanks. Add the potatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes; then add the peas, preserved lemon, and olives, and cook another 4 or 5 minutes. Fish out one of the shanks and the potatoes, and place on a warm plate; then, with a fine-mesh scoop, pick up all the peas and seasonings and scatter them over the meat. Pour on some of the cooking sauce (you'll only use about half of it), and sprinkle the parsley and cilantro on top.
• Variations
• I've used lima beans instead of peas, as well as a handful of fava beans, when I have them in the garden; both take a little longer to cook than the peas, so allow for that. If you don't have preserved lemon, either store-bought or homemade, use a couple of slivers of fresh lemon peel, finely julienned. And don't worry if you don't have fresh cilantro-parsley alone is fine. Be sure to save the rest of the cooking sauce.

LAMB SHANK WITH LIMA BEANS IN THE FRENCH STYLE

Steps:

• To reconstitute the dried beans, soak them overnight or bring them to a boil in a pan of water, remove from heat, let soak two hours, then drain.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan. Over medium-high heat brown the lamb on all sides, and set aside. Drain the fat, and deglaze the pan with the water. Set the liquid aside.
• In a large, heavy ovenproof casserole, saute the chopped shallots in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over a low-medium heat, until translucent. Add garlic; saute for another minute. Add the brandy or grappa and the tomatoes; cook over low heat for five minutes. Add the bay leaf and thyme.
• Arrange the lamb in the pan, meatier side down, add the drained beans, add the deglazing liquid from the browning pan, and pour in the wine. Bring slowly to a simmering boil; reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer five minutes.
• Cover and bake in the oven for two hours, or cook on top of the stove for two hours, checking periodically that the liquid is at a simmer, not a rolling boil.
• Serve one shank to a person with a cup of beans and liquid.

MROUZIA LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Working in batches if needed, add the lamb shanks and cook until browned on each side, about 15 minutes. (Make sure that the oil is very hot before adding the meat; you should hear a sizzle when the meat touches the pan, otherwise it isn't hot enough.) The meat will be released naturally from the pan once browned on one side, so don't be tempted to turn it beforehand. Transfer the browned lamb shanks to a dish and set aside until ready to use.
• Reduce the heat under the pot to medium, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the onion, garlic, ras el hanout, salt, cinnamon and saffron and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Return the lamb shanks to the pan, add the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. (The meat of the shanks should be mostly covered, but not necessarily fully submerged in the stock.) Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the meat is fully cooked and fork tender, about 2 hours, depending on the size of your shanks. If it looks like there isn't enough liquid in the pan and the tagine is drying out at any point during the cooking process, add a couple tablespoons of water.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the almonds out on a cookie sheet and roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden, giving them a good stir halfway through to make sure that they roast evenly. Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle, then grind using a food processor or crush with a rolling pin until coarsely ground. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Once the lamb shanks are fully cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside. Add the raisins and honey to the sauce and gently stir to combine. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to a syrup-like consistency and the raisins are plump.
• When the sauce is ready, return the lamb shanks to the pan to warm them through and coat them with the sauce. Garnish with almonds and serve immediately with fluffy couscous or crusty bread.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Make lamb shanks:
• Pat lamb shanks dry and season with salt and pepper. In an 8-quart heavy flameproof casserole heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown lamb shanks well in batches, transferring to a plate as browned. To casserole add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and sauté until onion is softened. Add wine and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 3 cups. Return lamb shanks to casserole and stir in broth, tomato paste, and thyme. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer, covered, stirring and turning lamb shanks occasionally, 1 1/2 hours. Simmer mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour more, or until lamb shanks are tender.
• Make the gremolata while lamb is cooking:
• In a small bowl stir together gremolata ingredients.
• Make beans while lamb is cooking:
• In a saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring, 2 or 3 minutes, or until softened. Add beans, 2 cups broth, butter, and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and adding enough remaining broth to keep beans moist and to reach a creamy consistency, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add half of gremolata and salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer lamb shanks to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Strain braising liquid through a sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids, and stir in butter and tarragon. Boil sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly. Strain sauce through sieve into a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Sprinkle lamb shanks with remaining gremolata and serve with beans and sauce.