Lamb Shank

Like most braised dishes, this stew takes time but, once the initial browning is done, very little work. There are times I consider browning optional, but this isn’t one of them, because the dish is so simple that you need the complexity browning brings. Serve with Pilaf (page 513) or another rice dish. Other cuts of meat you can use here: beef chuck, brisket, or round (all of which will take somewhat longer than the lamb); pork shoulder; lamb shanks (again, longer cooking); or veal shoulder or round.

A more complicated lamb stew than the preceding recipe, but a very flexible one, finished with the classic rich and delicious avgolemono, egg-lemon sauce. This can be made with a large variety of vegetables, in which case it’s a meal in a pot, always best served with pita bread or pilaf. Other cuts of meat you can use here: lamb shanks (which will take longer to cook) or shoulder chops, beef chuck or brisket (which also will require longer cooking time), or veal shoulder.

This lamb braises in its own juices and those produced by the onions. A large quantity of whole garlic cloves brown and become sublimely tender during the long cooking process, nicely offsetting the creamy, almost bland sauce. Do not skimp on the herb garnish, which is essential in this case. Serve with crusty bread, warm pita, or a good pilaf (page 513). Other cuts of meat you can use here: chunks of boneless lamb shoulder, which will cook considerably faster.

This dish is all about patience; the chile sauce takes just a few minutes to prepare and can be done while the lamb shanks are browning. But after combining the two with the mushrooms you must wait, sometimes for a few hours, for the shanks to become completely tender. Once that’s done, you can eat the meat with a rice dish (try Arroz a la Mexicana, for example, on page 517), or use it as a filling for tacos. Ideally, you’d use wild mushrooms here—I once made it with chanterelles, and the combination was magical—but fresh shiitakes are also great. Other cuts of meat you can use here: short ribs (which will also take a long time); chunks of lamb or pork shoulder (which will be faster) or beef chuck or brisket; bone-in chicken parts (which will be much quicker), preferably thighs.

The combination of lamb, thyme, garlic, and lemon is so perfect that this dish—simple as it is—is among my favorites. Needless to say, the slow-cooked potatoes, stewed in the pan juices, become rather fabulous. Other cuts of meat you can use here: boneless lamb or pork shoulder or shoulder lamb chops, all of which will cook more quickly than the shanks; short ribs; beef chuck or brisket; veal shank (osso buco).

A typical dish from the southern French countryside. Lentils are combined with lamb shanks, red wine, and not much else, and they cook for a couple of hours. While becoming beyond tender, the lentils also absorb the flavors of the lamb, the wine, and the aromatics sprinkled among them. The result is a one-pot meal—a salad or a little bread, or both, would round things out nicely—that takes some time but little work or attention. Other cuts of meat you can use here: short ribs.

Like Wor Teep, Chinese pot stickers, these meat-filled dumplings are filling and delicious (with store bought dumpling wrappers, they’re also quite easy). But the serving style is completely different: these are usually cooked and served in broth, with yogurt. Alternatively, you can boil them in water and serve them with yogurt or melted butter.

Especially when made with lamb, this is incomparably delicious; serve it with good bread or toast. There was a time when this meat was chopped, then pounded and kneaded by hand, for longer than you or I have the patience to do. The food processor makes quick work of the process, and if you buy good fresh meat from a reliable source and handle it carefully, it’s as safe as a rare hamburger.

It’s late March and green leaves as sharp as a dart are opening on the trees that shield this garden from the most bone chilling of the winter winds. The mornings are still crisp. You can see your breath. Stew weather. Unlike carrots, rutabaga becomes translucent when it cooks, making a casserole the glowing heart of the home.

Users of The Kitchen Diaries may feel they recognize this recipe. Previously I have always made it with cubed lamb, but I recently tried it with lamb shanks and left it overnight before reheating it. The presence of the bone and fat and the good night’s sleep have made such a difference that I thought it worth repeating here. You could make it a day or two in advance to good end.

Spanish Basque immigrants first arrived in the United States in the mid-1800s. This recipe contains typical ingredients found in a Basque lamb stew, which is often served at traditional family-style restaurants in the Basque communities that can still be found throughout the Pacific Northwest and West. I suggest you cook it until the meat is just about to fall off the bone.

Lamb shanks lend themselves to slow cooking, so I like to make this hearty dish-in-one on a weekend and then have it later in the week in a second incarnation. Shanks are often found two to a package in the supermarket, so it’s less hassle to buy the whole package and enjoy them twice. I’ve adapted this recipe from Claudia Roden, who taught me always to have a jar of my own preserved lemons in the fridge to give that final spark to so many Middle Eastern and North African dishes, and I’ve followed her advice.

Put some lovin’ in your oven! This fabulous dish gets its rich flavor from slowly brazing the veal until the meat is so tender, it literally falls off the bone with the touch of your fork. As it cooks, the aromas of the fresh herbs, earthy vegetables, and wine fill the kitchen. In fact, you may have to keep yourself busy by reading this cookbook until the timer goes off , lest you dig in before it’s done. Seriously, if you have never tried osso bucco, this is your chance! It takes a little more time—and expense—to cook than other dishes, but it’s completely worth it. Traditionally osso bucco is served over risotto, but we like it best over a bed of mashed potatoes or cooked white rice. So go ahead and treat yourself, you deserve it. If you’re not keen on veal, you can use lamb instead.

I’m gonna jump right out there and say that lamb is my favorite meat. And this is probably my favorite dish—to both cook and eat. I love that lamb shanks look like something out of the Flintstones, even though one shank is the perfect size for one person. On a cold winter night when I’m home making dinner for my family, this is definitely my go-to recipe. Like any braise, it takes a bit of effort to get started, but once you get them going, you can just toss the shanks in the oven and let them go on their lamby way.

This out-of-the-ordinary stew is seriously good and its enticing aroma seductive. The sauce is smooth and complex: cinnamon, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, and cardamom all add up to an intriguing flavor that really lingers. The parsley-almond garnish adds brightness to the dish. Sweet, nutty, and crunchy, with layers of Indian spices, this killer recipe is a musttry. Serve it over basmati rice.

The essence of barbecue is taking the cheapest cuts of meat and turning them into succulent dishes by cooking them at a lower temperature. Take lamb, for example. The very desirable leg portion of lamb can be purchased in most supermarkets at a premium price. The less meaty shank portion costs much less and will still draw raves at the dinner table. Lamb shanks, cut from the lower portion of the leg, are sold bone-in, in about one-pound portions. Allow one shank per person.

Lamb shanks make for some of the best braised meat. The bone and marrow enrich the sauce and the gelatinous nature of the meat nearest the bone gives it a silken texture. In India we braise shanks in dozens of ways. Muslim families sometimes eat the shanks for breakfast with all manner of flatbreads and raw onion relishes. You could serve them with rice as well, such as the Yellow Basmati Rice with Sesame Seeds.

The name of this dish, which means “his mother’s milk,” implies that the meat of a young animal is cooked in its own mother’s milk. It can be made with small lamb shanks or with knuckle of veal (osso buco) or slightly fatty, cubed meat. I have used lamb shanks. Serve it with plain or Vermicelli Rice (page 304). The yogurt makes a wonderful, soupy sauce—so provide spoons, too.