Rosemary Lamb Shanks
 

“Rosemary” is a whimsically beautiful word.  “Shank” is…um…not.  However, when you throw “lamb” between those two, you get a lusciously braised, earthy Greek potlatch. 

 

With my brother Colin, sister-in-law Kathleen and nieces Jackie and Ellie visiting DC for an incredibly special, fun-filled week (including the below-pictured snowman building), we (including the incomparable Kathleen Galvan) couldn’t resist making this sumptuous dish as our farewell feast.


Kissing our new friend aptly named "Olaf" by Jackie and Ellie.  Pay particular note to Jackie's and Ellie's boots and short sleeves.  We grow them tough, smart and adorable in Oklahoma!



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My mother first started making Rosemary Lamb Shanks in the mid-90s – about the time we all looked like this (i.e. more fit, less old and, um, more hairy)…



Colin, Chris/Canon, Cason, Mom

This photo has assumed an almost iconic stature in our family (in fact, we even tried to replicate it a few times).  It was snapped in Seattle during a family trip to visit Cason.  Among other amazing highlights of the visit was our inaugural “Big Sammy” competition.  You see, my family loves allegedly friendly competitions.  These aren’t just competitions though.  There is pride to be won or lost, humiliation to be suffered or avoided…and, of course, hardware to be won in the form of ridiculous trophies (in the case of our Oscar competition, a life-size gold-hued Oscar trophy (which yours truly won this year)). 

The Big Sammy competition was the first of such competitions and was born out of a simple challenge between Colin and me as to who could make the better unnecessarily large submarine/hoagie/grinder sandwich.  With much fanfare, the sandwiches were prepared and sampled by the panel of judges.  Colin’s was a mess of mayonnaise, hot sauce and grilled chicken (kidding--it was very good) and mine was an Italian delicacy I learned to concoct during my illustrious three month tenure at Chuck E. Cheese during high school.

After the votes were tallied and dramatically unveiled, I emerged victorious…but not without controversy.  The allegation has been made but never proven that mom changed her vote to my sandwich because she thought I would be more devastated if I lost.  True or not (and, yes, I would have been an absolute boor if I had lost), it only demonstrated how loving everyone thought my mom was – sometimes to a fault.  Although I have not since won the sandwich contest again, that inaugural Big Sammy victory continues to be my life's greatest achievement--too bad I fizzled out at 27.

But I digress…

Rosemary Lamb Shanks are surprisingly easy to prepare.  You can find lamb shanks in most decent grocery stores or on www.dartagnan.com (where I bought the shanks used for this recipe).  My only recommendation as a change to mom’s recipe (a sacrilege, I know!) is a lower oven temperature (325 degrees, perhaps) and a longer amount of time in the oven (as long as it takes the lamb to come up to an internal temperature of about 150-160 degrees...probably 2 hours).

Experiment, expand, enjoy!

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Mom’s Recipe

Just the best!!!  I serve with roasted new potatoes or mashed potatoes and a fresh fruit salad [for our preparation Colin made absolutely incomparable mashed cauliflower).

2 Tbs. olive oil
6 (12-14o) lamb shanks, trimmed
2 carrots, cut on diagonal into 1/4” thick slices
2 celery stalks, cut on diagonal into ¼” slices
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 C. dry red wine
1 C. low-salt chicken broth
1 C. canned beef broth
2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dried
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven [I used a roasting pan over two burners given the size of the shanks] over medium high heat.  Season shanks with salt and pepper.  Working in batches, add lamb to Dutch oven; brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.  Transfer lamb to plate.  Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic to Dutch oven; sauté until light brown, about 4 minutes.  Add 1 ¾ C. red wine; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits, about 2 minutes.  Add both broths, rosemary and bay leaves.  Return lamb to Dutch oven; cover.  Cook in oven until lamb is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Transfer lamb to platter.  Tent with foil.  Strain cooking liquid, reserving vegetables.  Discard bay leaves.  Return liquid to Dutch oven.  Boil liquid until reduced to 1 ½ Cups, about 10 minutes.  Mix remaining ¼ cup wine with corn starch until smooth.  Add to cooking liquid and simmer until thickened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.  Return lamb and vegetables to Dutch oven (can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.)

Simmer lamb until heated through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Arrange lamb and vegetables on platter.  Spoon sauce over.  Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig, if desired.

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Our Greek friends Aristotle, Hippocrates, Archimedes, Pythagoras, Socrates and Homer surely philosophizing about the meaning of their soon-to-be short lives (cauliflower, carrots, celery, onions and other accoutrement joining them):

 

Always on the diagonal, per mi madre:

 

 The initial sear on any braise is key:

WINE and vegetables join in the festivities:

After our Greek friends returned to the bath, the finished product just out of the oven:

 

 

 A wonderful cheeseboard composed by Kathleen Galvan as an apertif:

And then the feast begins!