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!!

72: Veal Chops / Tomato-Olive Jus / Rainbow Chard & Strawberry Salad / Parmesan Saffron Orzo

I’ve wanted rectangular plates with ramekins for a minute now, but I was waiting for them to go on sale at Sur La Table or World Market before buying them. Amber beat me to it, and she surprised me with a set this past week. I thought this was a good excuse to make a nice dinner, as if I needed an excuse.

I picked up some veal chops, orzo, and rainbow swiss chard, and then I set out to make a meal. Dinner tonight is amazingly flavorful. Each element builds upon the next, ranging from familiar to exotic, sour and tangy to bitter and sweet. The mildly rich texture of the veal is perfect for the acidic tomato and olive jus, swiss chard and strawberry salad, and the saffron orzo that takes on a gourmet mac and cheese feel with a flavor lift right at the end of the palette courtesy of the saffron.

Drink chardonnay with this dinner, and you will be utterly pleased with the entire experience.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 veal chops, 1 inch thick

10 grape tomatoes, left whole

3/4 cup orzo

1/3 cup Greek olive mix, diced

2 tbsp rosemary and thyme, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup white wine

3/4 cup orzo

Pinch of saffron

1 cup rainbow chard, chiffonade

2 strawberries, sliced into 8 pieces total

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp butter

Olive oil

Salt + pepper

Veal—Pat chops dry and dredge chops through 2/3 of the herbs and salt and pepper. Press seasoning into each side.  Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking, Now add chops and sauté them for 4 minutes per side. Don’t move veal while it’s cooking. Transfer to a plate after browning each side.

Sauce—Add garlic to skillet with another tbsp of olive oil and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 30 seconds. Garlic should be fragrant now. Add the wine, tomatoes, olives, remaining herbs, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Gently press on tomatoes with spatula or spoon after 5 minutes. They should collapse easily.  Simmer for the remaining five minutes while stirring occasional.

Orzo—Boil well-salted water, and add orzo once water reaches a rolling boil. Add in orzo with saffron threads, and cook for 6-7 minutes. Drain well in a colander, return to pot, and stir in cheese and butter. Keep warm.

Salad—Heat oil over medium heat as orzo and sauce finish. Sauté chard for 2-3 minutes with a pinch of salt, turning often, until gently wilted. Serve strawberry slices over the swiss chard on the plate.

Reheat chops in sauce pan for 1-2 minutes. Plate the dinner as you like.

Enjoy!!