RISOTTO WITH WINTER LAMB & VEGETABLES

Lamb shanks, to many, seem to be just too much food. And they are when served as an entire shank served per person. In this recipe, as inspired by Chef Joachim Splichal, the lamb shank is braised in a rich liquid of wine and beef stock but is not left whole. After braising, the tender meat is removed from the bone and broken down into smaller manageable pieces. The meat then can be incorporated with the vegetables and a bit of the braising liquid and served over our classic rich risotto. Accompany with a Parmesan crisp or piece of toasty bread. This dish will warm you up on a cozy wintery night.

RISOTTO WITH WINTER LAMB & VEGETABLES

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Servings 3 -4

Ingredients

  

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Lamb

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Medium Lamb Shanks
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Yellow Onion roughly chopped
• 1 Carrot roughly chopped
• 2 Stalks Celery roughly chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• 1/2 Tomato Paste
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
• 1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine
• 3 Tbsp Demi-Glacé Concentrate
• 32 Ounces Beef Stock
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 2 Sprigs Flat-leaf Parsley chopped
• 1 Strip Lemon Peel julienned

Risotto

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Shallots diced
• 4 Cloves Garlic minced
• 1/2 Cup Arborio Rice
• 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 32 Oz Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 1/2 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter cubed

Vegetables

• 1/2 Large Eggplant
• 1 Medium Zucchini
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions

 

Prepare the Lamb

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to food processor and pulse several times until the vegetables are all minced uniformly, but not mushy.
• Season the lamb shanks all over with Salt and Pepper. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until almost smoking then add the lamb shanks to sear on all sides. Once seared all over, remove and set aside.
• In the same pot add the remaining olive oil and then the minced vegetables stirring well to coat with the oil. Cook until vegetables are transparent about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and incorporate into the vegetables. Let the mixture “toast” the tomato paste mixture slightly. Add the dried thyme and mix well. Add the white wine and deglaze the pot and let the mixture reduce for approximately 3 minutes until the mixture is a nice creamy base. Salt and Pepper to taste.
• Add the red wine and beef stock to the mixture along with the bay leaves and stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients. Add the lamb shanks back to the pot and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Cover the pot and place into the preheated oven for 45 minutes. After the first 45 minutes turn the shanks over and continue to braise, covered, for another 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
• Once the meat has cooled enough to work with it by hand, remove the shanks to a large bowl. Start by removing the outer fat layer and separate the “lobes” of meat from the bone discarding the fat and connective tissue. Cut larger pieces of meat into smaller sizes to be mixed with the vegetables later. Reserve the braising liquid.

RISOTTO

• While the lamb is braising in the oven, In a small sauce pan heat the stock to a very light simmer on a burner next to where you are going to prepare the risotto. The stock will need to be hot upon each addition of stock to the rice mixture.

  Next, in a deep wide sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the shallots and sauté for just a couple of minutes until the shallots are slightly transparent. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the rice and mix well into the shallot and garlic mixture. Let the rice toast with the onions for about 1-2 minutes. The rice grains will open up to let the flavor of the onion and garlic in. Next add the white wine and salt and pepper and mix well. Let the wine reduce for 2-3 minutes until the mixture seems to have thickened slightly.
• At this point, with a large ladle, ladle in about one and a half ladles full of the hot stock and stir the mixture well. The rice should come to a simmer quickly and you should keep stirring the mixture to allow the rice to fully incorporate the stock. Once the stock has absorbed into the rice mixture add another single ladle of stock and stir. Stir often as the stock incorporates. This will release the starches in the rice into the stock the results in creaminess of the dish. Continue with this process, one ladle at a time, until all of the stock is incorporated and the rice has cooked about 18-20 minutes. The rice should be creamy, the kernels should be slightly al dente, yet the mixture should not be mushy.
• Off the heat, add the grated cheese and incorporate fully until the mixture thickens. Add the butter and stir vigorously until the risotto is lusoious and creamy. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside and keep wam.

Vegetables

• Cut the eggplant and zucchini into small baton pieces about 2 inches long.
• In a non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the vegetables and sauté adding salt and pepper to taste. Allow the vegetables to brown slightly for about 2 minutes stirring often.
• Add the reserve lamb meat to the vegetables along with about a cup of the braising liquid. Turn the heat down to medium and let the vegetables and meat reheat in the liquid. Salt and pepper to taste.

SERVE

• To serve, divide the risotto among 2 or 3 bowls and top with the lamb and vegetable mixture. Garnish with lemon strips and the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

The lamb can be served over mashed potatoes, polenta, couscous or even noodles. Also, to the lamb, adding olives, dried fruit or nuts would give the dish a nice middle eastern character.

Other cuts of meat might be Ossobuco (veal shank) or beef short ribs.

Keyword Eggplant, Lamb, rice, Zucchini

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