Ten Hour Braised Lamb Neck With Wilted Creasy Greens Recipes

BRAISED LAMB WITH RED WINE AND PRUNES

Steps:

• Cut lamb into 2-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat; remove.
• Add onion, garlic, prunes, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper; cook until fragrant. Add wine, stock or water and browned lamb. When the liquid boils, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Garnish: Parsley.

10-HOUR BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Place carrots, onion, and celery in an even layer in a roasting pan. Season lamb with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Set lamb on top of vegetables. Transfer to oven and cook for 6 hours.
• After about 5 1/2 hours of cooking, place Pinot Noir in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups.
• Remove roasting pan from oven and add wine to pan, along with stock and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover roasting pan with parchment paper-lined foil and return to oven. Continue cooking until meat is almost falling off the bone, about 4 hours more.
• Remove lamb from braising liquid and use a fork to scrape meat away from bones. Divide meat among 4 plates and serve immediately.

LAMB NECKS BRAISED IN WINE WITH PEPPERS

Steps:

• Place lamb in a heavy sealable plastic bag. Combine wine, 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, rosemary, garlic and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and add to bag. Seal and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. (Lamb can be marinated in a bowl, but more wine might be needed.) Remove lamb from marinade. Strain marinade, separately reserving the garlic and rosemary, and the marinade.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy casserole large enough to hold lamb. Add onion, sauté on low until softened, and stir in Aleppo pepper, cumin and cinnamon. Add garlic and rosemary leaves (no stems) from the marinade. Add 1 1/2 cups of the marinade and boil down until nearly evaporated.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place lamb in casserole. Add remaining marinade. Cover and cook 2 hours, until tender. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a skillet. Add pepper strips and cook, stirring, on high heat until soft and lightly seared. Lower heat, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and the honey. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.
• When lamb is tender, transfer it to a serving platter. Heat sauce on top of stove, stir in tomato paste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Spoon around meat, scatter pepper strips on top and scatter on parsley.

FRENCH ONION-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH BARLEY AND GREENS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Lightly season lamb with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat the oil in a 7- to 8-quart Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Add the lamb shanks and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the lamb to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate, and set aside.
• Add the onions, leeks and carrots to the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium. Season lightly with salt and cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven with a wooden spoon, until the onions and leeks are as caramelized as you'd like, about 20 minutes for lightly caramelized onions that give the stew a more savory flavor, or 45 minutes or longer for deeply caramelized onions that will make the stew sweeter. If browned bits start building up on the bottom of the pot, add water a tablespoon at a time, scraping them up and reincorporating them before continuing.
• When the onions are ready, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and stir until it evenly coats all of the vegetables. Add the wine, scrape the bottom and sides of the pot, and cook until the wine is reduced by at least half, a minute or two. Add the chicken stock and the rosemary. (Tie the rosemary into a bundle with kitchen twine if you want to make it easier on yourself later.)
• Return the lamb shanks to the pot. Increase heat to high, bring the pot to a simmer, and transfer to the oven. Place a lid on top, leaving it cracked by an inch or so. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, then remove from oven. Flip the lamb, and stir the barley and spinach into the broth, making sure it's all submerged. Return to the oven, cover with the lid cracked, and continue cooking until a metal skewer inserted into the lamb meets very little resistance, the meat falls off the bone with a little tug, and the barley is fully cooked but still chewy, 30 to 45 minutes longer.
• Transfer the pot to the stovetop, remove and discard the rosemary, and adjust the consistency to a saucy, stewlike mixture by simmering to thicken, or thin it out by adding water. Stirring as you go to prevent the bottom from sticking. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

CREAMED BRAISING GREENS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until it foams. Add the garlic and shallot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until softened and golden, 5 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Add the nutmeg and salt to taste. Using a hand blender, purée until smooth.
• In a large pot, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over high heat until it foams. Add the greens and cook, stirring constantly, until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and add the cream mixture. Lower the heat, cover and let simmer until cooked through, 5 minutes more. Taste for nutmeg and salt, season to taste and serve hot.

TEN-HOUR BRAISED LAMB NECK WITH WILTED CREASY GREENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F with rack in middle. • BRAISE LAMB: Put carrots, celery, and onion in a small roasting pan or baking dish slightly larger than lamb neck. Season lamb neck with ¾ tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and put on top of vegetables. Bake, uncovered, 6 hours. • About 30 minutes before lamb is done, boil wine in a 2-qt heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1½ cups, about 10 minutes. Add stock and return to a boil. • Remove lamb from oven and pour wine mixture into roasting pan. Cover pan with foil and braise in oven until meat is almost falling off the bone, about 4 hours more. • Remove lamb neck from braising liquid and use a fork to scrape meat away from bones (you should have about 3 cups meat). • COOK GREENS Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until it shimmers, then cook greens with a large pinch of salt and pepper, tossing, until just wilted, about 1 minute. • Serve lamb with greens. COOKS' NOTE: Lamb can be braised 2 days ahead and cooled in braising liquid, then chilled (covered once cool). Reheat in braising liquid, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes before scraping meat from bones and serving. Photograph by Marcus Nilsson by Sam Beall, Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee