The weather is getting cooler, which allows more stews on the menu. At the same time, fresh juicy tomatoes are still available, so before they disappear, I’ve decided to use them in this lamb stew. It was a good decision, as their acidity and slight sweetness balanced the fairly heavy lamb meat beautifully, along with the onion and red wine.
Only few ingredients are needed to create this easy and tasty rustic stew, and the slow braising will extract wonderful flavor from them. I sliced the onions fairly thick, and didn’t sauté them first, as I wanted them to only soften while they absorb the red wine and juices. The tomatoes were also cut into large chunks, so they could keep their shape and not dissolve into a sauce. The rosemary added its’ wonderful aroma, that goes so well with red wine. I served the stew over a bed of plain couscous, that was only seasoned with salt, as the stew is bold enough in flavors. Try it and enjoy.
Notes:
* Cuts that have more meat and less bones can be used instead of the shanks.
* Beef can substitute the lamb.
* The stew will taste even better if kept in the fridge overnight, so plan accordinly.
Makes: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Chilling time (optional): overnight
Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
1.2 lbs (550 grams) thick sliced bone-in lamb shanks
¼ cup flour
1 Tbs salt
½ tsp freshly ground four peppers mix
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 large fresh tomatoes, roughly cut
1 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
1 Tbs honey (preferably orange blossom)
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1. Heat the oil in a large wide pot, over medium-high heat. Mix the flour with some of the salt and pepper and dust the lamb shanks with it. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned on both sides.
2. Add the onions and tomatoes on top, and season with the rest of salt and pepper. Add the wine and honey and mix gently. Place the rosemary on top. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200F (93C). Place the covered pot in the oven and braise for 1 hour. Uncover the pot and remove the rosemary sprigs, so it will not overpower the flavor (keep it for garnish). Place the pot back in the oven and braise for another hour, or until the meat almost falls off the bones.
4. The stew can be served at this point, but it will taste even better after a night in the fridge. In this case, bring the dish to room temp, cover and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to serve, reheat over medium-low heat. The stew is best served over plain couscous, Israeli couscous, or polenta.
Delicious
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Looks delicious
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Thank you, it really was! 🙂
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You are welcome dear😍
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Oh my goodness! That looks so good!
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Thank you Angela, I”m glad you liked the dish. It was very tasty. 🙂
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You’re so right! It’s a wonderful time of year from a culinary standpoint. I just made a ratatouille-type mixture with the most beautiful ripe tomatoes, and it was perfection! Lovely stew.
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Thank you Mimi, I’m glad you liked the dish. It’s great to still have those fresh summer tomatoes. Your ratatouille sounds delicious! 🙂
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It is a Catalon version called Samfaina. OMG so wonderful. On the blog soon….
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I had to google it, as I’ve never heard of it. It sounds so good. A sort of a combination between ratatouille and caponata, both which I love. Looking forward to your post! 🙂
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Terrific dish, Ronit!
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Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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My pleasure.
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Love lamb but I always seem to use chops, leg or rack and not the shanks. I am still getting good tomatoes too but not for long – lamb and rosemary are a good pair.
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Lamb shanks are indeed less popular, as they are fairly small compared to beef, but it worked very well in this dish. I too love rosemary with lamb. 🙂
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Ooohhh! I’ve only made lamb once and have been looking for more flavors to pair it with, this is perfect!!
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Thank you Annie, I’m glad you liked the dish. All these flavors worked so well together. I hope you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂
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Great looking recipe! Love lamb shanks, and always looking for new ways to prepare them
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The shanks came out so tasty with the tomatoes and red wine. 🙂
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What a great recipe, Ronit!
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Thank you Debbie, I’m glad you liked the recipe. This stew was so easy to make and so tasty! 🙂
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I don’t believe I’ve ever had a lamb dish quite like this before. Sounds wonderful!
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Thank you Jeff, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It was the result of “this and that” kind of cooking, that worked really well. 🙂
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Just look at those tomatoes! YUM!!
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Thank you Ella, I’m glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
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Stew sounds delicious! It’s gone from summer to fall to wintered and back to fall today here in PA. A stew sounds perfect!
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Thank you Joanne, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Stews will definitely will be on the menu more often now. 🙂
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Your lamb dish recipe is always tempting – like the one with fennel!
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I do try to come up with new ways to make lamb stew. The fennel one is still high on my favorites list. 🙂
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Looking forward to the new ones!
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We love lamb shanks and yours look so good. I’ve never seen the shanks cut into small pieces similar to veal for osso buco before. Must ask my butcher if he will cut them that way…thanks for the inspiration.
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Thank you Karen, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Lamb shanks cut this way are indeed not very common. I hope you’ll be able to get them. They produce a completely different flavor than the whole shank.
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I’m sure if I ask the butcher at our market that it shouldn’t be a problem. That is what I like about visiting your blog…I find lots of new ideas so thank you.
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Glad to hear! 🙂
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Reblogged this on Crackling Pork Rinds.
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