84: Braised Lamb Shanks in White Wine, Tomatoes, Greek Olives & Herbs / Creamy Polenta / Rainbow Chard Chiffonade

Any regular reader of my blog knows I love anything that is slow-cooked, and braised lamb shank is one of the ultimate comfort foods. Cooked in a delicious, intensely aromatic sauce for about two hours until the meat is so moist and tender, it's literally falling off the bone. I'm a big fan of lamb, always have been, and I was thrilled to see lamb shanks at my local grocery store. I asked my lady if she wanted mashed potatoes or polenta to go with it and polenta is what she chose.

I wanted to make it a little lighter, so I chose white wine instead of red wine to go with a copious amount of fresh chopped herbs. Normally I would add carrots, fennel, leeks, or celery to the braising sauce, but I decided to try it with just olives and tomatoes this time around. It was definitely lighter, maybe even a warm weather sauce, but there was no compromise in the flavor profile.

I sautéed rainbow chard, one of my favorite vegetables, to go with what was shaping up to be a Mediterranean-inspired dinner. Chard is very popular along the Mediterranean, and it is also one of the healthiest vegetables out there with over a dozen different antioxidants. The bitter, earthy profile went nicely with the rest of the dish.

Ingredients & Directions:

Lamb shanks-
2 lamb shanks, about 1.5 lbs total
1 cup diced onions
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1.5 cups dry white wine
2.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Greek Olive mix, pitted and quartered
1 cup fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, tarragon)
Olive oil
Salt + pepper

Polenta-
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup water
1 cup half & half cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tbsp butter

2 large rainbow chard leaves, stemmed and chiffonade

Lamb shanks and sauce—Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season shanks with salt and pepper, and heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven. Brown lamb shanks for 5-6 minutes on each side. Remove shanks to a plate. Add onions and garlic to the drippings, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, or until translucent.

Add shanks back to this mixture, along with the white wine, herbs, chicken stock, tomatoes, and olives. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook in the oven for two hours. Turn shanks once halfway through the cooking time.

Remove shanks to a plate when done to let excess sauce drip off. Spoon sauce over top of the shank with a slotted spoon, so there is not a lot of sauce. Use a regular spoon to add sauce around the polenta.

For the polenta--Bring the water, cream and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water and begin whisking the polenta. Whisk for 4-5 minutes continuously to prevent lumps and create a smooth, creamy mixture. Add cheese to polenta, and whisk for another minute to blend it all in. Check seasonings, and add salt and pepper as needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Sauté chard in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

83: Braised Short Ribs / Broccoli Puree / Tomato-Parsley "Confit"

My favorite winter pastime is alive and well: slow-cooked meat. There is just something about a tender, flavorful piece of meat that is undeniably satisfying to this Midwestern boy.

I regularly see beef short ribs at the butcher shop, and I could not resist them anymore. This recipe requires a little bit of time, since there is an overnight marinade involved, but it is so worth the wait. Broccoli, cheese, and potatoes are also staples of my childhood, and they served as the inspiration for the broccoli puree. I added the tomato-parsley confit to hopefully brighten the flavor profile, but I think it added too much acid to the short rib, which was not lacking in that department because of the wine and stock. Nevertheless, your dinner guests will leave wanting more, and that’s not a bad thing.

We drank Perrin & Fils “Les Cornuds” (2007) with dinner, a 65% syrah, 35% grenache blend, but this wine was not big enough to handle the flavors. Go for a meaty bordeaux or big cabernet.

Ingredients and Directions:

For the meat-

1.5-2 lbs beef short ribs with bones

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

3 garlic cloves, thickly sliced

1 bottle of dry red wine

2 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs, 2 sage sprigs, 2 parsley sprigs

2.5 cups chicken stock

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

For the puree-

1 small red potatoes, peeled and diced

2 handfuls of broccoli florets, chopped

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 large spoonful of sour cream

1 tbs minced parsley

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

For the tomato confit-

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 tbs minced parsley

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

The short ribs— In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Season the ribs well with salt and pepper. Sear meat in the hot oil, turning once, for about 20 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish in a single layer.

Now add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic to the same skillet, and cook mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the wine and herbs and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the hot marinade over the ribs, let cool, cover and refrigerate overnight. Turn the ribs at least once in the marinade. There will be some fat build up in the pan, but don’t worry about it because it will be skimmed off later in the cooking process, or you may opt to remove as much as you can before finishing the cooking process.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large Dutch oven. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 90 minutes. Remove the cover and braise for an additional 45 minutes.

Transfer the meat to a clean shallow baking dish, discarding the bones. Strain the sauce into a bowl and skim off as much fat as possible with a spoon, discarding veggies. This is somewhat tedious, but it’s incredibly important because your sauce will taste like fat instead of nicely flavored broth otherwise. Spoon the sauce over the short ribs after plating everything.

The puree—Boil the potato until very tender, about 20 minutes. Steam the broccoli for 12-15 minutes to get it nice and tender. Drain both potatoes and broccoli, and mash the potatoes with a fork. Add mashed potatoes, broccoli, sour cream, cheese, broth and salt and pepper to a food processor, and pulse for about 30-45 seconds total. Taste the puree and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a pot and keep warm on low heat.

The tomatoes—Heat olive oil over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes, turn the pan a couple times to coat the surface. Add tomatoes to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and lower heat to medium. Add parsley after 2 minutes and stir. Add tomatoes over short ribs using a slotted spoon.

82: Lemon Pepper Crusted Turbot / Brussels Sprouts & Wild Mushrooms / Celery Root Puree

We went grocery shopping earlier today and the idea for this dinner just popper into my head when I saw the fish. I knew I wanted to create something with a seasonal flare.

Turbot fish is absolutely amazing. It’s a big time food fish because of its delicate flavor yet meaty texture. The local markets only seem to have it for a short time over the summer, but I was able to score a couple fresh filets this time of the year.  Fresh grated lemon zest and pepper make for the perfect seasoning on the fish.

I love the delicate flavors of root vegetables such as turnips, parsnips, and celery root. I recently had rockfish with a celery root puree, and I thought it was such a great pairing that I recreated that pairing here. Milk helps enhance the mellow but full flavor of celery root.

I needed to round everything out with other vegetables, and the nutty and earthy play of brussels sprouts and cremini mushrooms worked nicely with the inadvertent theme of the dish: familiar flavors in different presentations.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 turbot filets

1 celery root head, about one pound, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup diced onion

8 brussels sprouts quartered

3/4 cup wild mushrooms, chopped

1 large lemon

1 cup milk

1 cup water

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

The fish— Season the fish well with salt and pepper. Using a microplane zester, zest the lemon well over both sides of each filet until it looks lightly coated. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the filets to the pan for 4-5 minutes on each side. It’s a meatier fish that will hold up to a longer cook time in the pan.

The puree—Bring milk, water, and salt just to boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add celery root cubes and onions, and bring to a boil once more. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until very tender. Drain cooking liquid from celery root, and then puree celery root to desired consistency.  Adjust taste with salt and pepper as you like.

The vegetables—Heat olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan, and add brussels sprouts and mushrooms once oil is hot. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté the mixture for about 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!!

81: Lamb & Veal "Bolognese" / Fresh Spinach, Beet & Egg Fettucine

It’s starting to feel a lot like the holidays! I wanted to make something that looked seasonal, and I also wanted to continue my winter tradition of slow cooking. Even though I made this in the "holiday spirit," this is really just a great cold weather meal.

I knew exactly what I was making when I saw the tri color fresh pasta at the grocery store. I mean, fresh pasta says it all. I’ve made a lamb or veal bolognese many times before, but I had never combined the two meats into one. The result: An incredibly tender and flavorful meat sauce that dances on the palate with the different types of pasta. The beet pasta was by far my favorite of the bunch. Any meat or Italian food lover will enjoy this dinner.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground veal

Will’s Holy Trinity

--1 leek, thinly sliced

--1 medium carrot, diced

--1 small fennel bulb, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cup dry red wine

1.5 cup chicken broth

1 large tomato, seeded and diced

Tomato paste, 1 good large spoonful

Bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley

1 pound fresh tri color fettuccine pasta

Parmigiano-reggiano, large shred for garnish

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley, minced for garnish

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a Dutch oven, and sauté the Holy Trinity for about 10-12 minutes with good bit of salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and add veal and lamb to cook until browned, somewhere between 5-10 minutes. Stir to break up clumps.  Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, bouquet garni, and wine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 – 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper as necessary. Discard bouquet garni.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 2 minutes; drain. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

80: Will's Beef Stew

I don’t know why, but I had a serious craving for beef stew. Maybe I just wanted to do more slow cooking in December. It wasn’t cold, but I was determined to warm the house with delicious smells.

This stew is the ultimate winter season stew. I don’t use any flour or potatoes in the stew, so the sauce stays on the lighter side. I think the exclusion of flour and potatoes lets the natural flavors stand out. The addition of parsnips and fennel create a unique flavor base that is not typically found in traditional beef stew. The parsnips add a subtle sweetness, while the fennel adds that irresistible star anise flavor. I oven roasted sweet potato and green beans to go with this, but you could serve it with rice, or add potatoes to the stew for a more hearty profile.

Ingredients and Directions:

-1 pound stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

-1 cup onion, diced

-1 cup celery, diced

-1 cup parsnips, peeled and cubed

-1 cup fennel, diced

-1 cup carrots, diced

-1 cup dry red wine

-2 1/2 cups beef stock

-generous portion of chopped rosemary, thyme, and sage

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced thin

-good handful of green beans

-olive oil

-salt + pepper

The Stew: Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a Dutch oven. When it begins to smoke slightly, about 5 minutes, add the beef and brown very well. Add salt and pepper as you brown the meat. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon once the meat is browned.

Lower heat to medium, and add the onions, carrots, celery, fennel, and garlic with a good bit of salt and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the wine to deglaze bottom, and simmer mixture for about 5 minutes. Now add the beef, the beef stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 60 minutes. Add the parsnips, and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

Veggies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange sweet potato and green beans on a dish, and toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast them in oven for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!