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!!