Lamb Shanks Slowly

We had some family over a few nights ago for dinner and as fate had it, I was cooking. It was a combined effort by myself and my young, beautiful, attractive wife/assistant :) in the dessert department. 

The menu was: Slow Braised New Zealand Lamb Shanks, with Oyster Mushroom Risotto and Caramelized Parsnip. The dessert was an incredible Lemon and Lime Tart Recipe pillaged from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks served with White Chocolate and Berry Ice-Cream. 

This was all enjoyed with a rather good bottle of inexpensive cabernet/merlot blend. The whole meal was truly a great one, not only because of the grand menu, but because the night was made even more special, by sharing it with equally as grand people. As we had not seen them for quite some time, there was no better way to do a bit of catching up. 

So my truly wonderful and easy Lamb Shank recipe follows:

7 Medium sized shanks, were braised in a slow cooker after sealing them in a hot skillet that morning and adding 2 tins of Whole-peeled/Chopped tomatoes, 1 Glass Red Wine, 3 Bay Leaves, 2 Cups Diced and Combined Carrot, Celery and Onion, 4 Cups Vegetable Stock and a generous seasoning of Course Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper. This cooked on a high setting for 6 hours( Note: if you are using larger shanks add on 1-2 hours cooking time)

My risotto was made using dried Oyster Mushrooms that I had cultivated in a warm dark and dangerous corner of my shed, and air dried on my kitchen window sill in warmer weather.

I like to use dried mushrooms in a risotto as you would rehydrate them by pouring hot water over them, and at the same time producing a pungent and flavorful mushroom stock to add to the risotto during the cooking process. (1/2 Cup Roughly Chopped Mushrooms + 3 Cups Boiling Water. Do this first before you start your risotto, so that your mushrooms steep, and the stock flavour develops)

My risotto recipe goes a little something like this:

In a medium sized heavy based pot, add 3 Tbsp. Butter, 1 Medium Sized Onion, finely chopped. Sauté on a hot/ but not full heat, until the onions have started to go translucent(see through) for roughly 1 min. Then add the Arborio Rice and stir around for 20-30 sec, don't let the rice catch on the bottom of the pot. If the rice does catch, turn the heat down slightly. 

Add the stock and the Mushrooms. Do this in stages by adding only a third of the mushrooms and stock at a time, stirring the bottom of the pot. This gives the rice time to soak up the stock evenly and produces a silky smooth, al dente risotto. To finish, add 200ml Cream while still stirring the risotto slowly to a moist, slightly thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. 

Test your risotto by fishing out a single grain and biting on it, it should be firm but not chewy. A 1/2 handful of grated Parmesan cheese is optional at this point.

The Caramelized Parsnips where peeled and cut into crudité sized sticks(+/- 1cm thick) and sautéed with butter on a low to medium heat giving the parsnips time to cook and brown slowly without coloring too quickly(+/- 3-4min.) I then turned up the heat, and added a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of salt and sautéed vigorously, till the sugar had helped caramelize and even out the colour.(1min.)

All the flavors of the ingredients in my recipes above, fused and complemented each other so well. It was truly a plate that I was proud of sharing with others and thought I might share it with you also.

Have fun cooking from your soul...