Spiced Roasted Lamb Shank

This dish was adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine. It was fun to make individual portions wrapped up in foil, easy for serving and perfect for keeping leftovers for lunch the next day. Even if you’re not a huge fan of lamb, you’ll find that the citrus and red pepper are the most dominant flavors and the lamb becomes very tender from steaming in the onion juices.

Ingredients per Packet (multiply for number of servings desired)

• 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 2 half-pound lamb shanks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium leek – chopped, white and light green parts only
• 1 medium carrot – halved and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 3-inch strip of fresh orange zest
• Pinch of red pepper flake
• Splash of dry white wine

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

On the stovetop, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Rinse and pat dry the lamb, lightly season with salt and pepper. Working in batches brown the lamb for about 5 minutes per side, careful not to overcrowd the skillet.

On a 16 by 16 inch square of heavy duty aluminum foil, arrange the leeks and carrot as the base. Add the lamb and top with remaining ingredients. Fold the foil creating rectangular packets, rolling/pinching the seams tightly. Arrange the packets on a baking sheet, so they do not overlap, and bake for 2 ½ hours. Being careful of steam when opening the packet, lamb is done when it is tender and falling off the bone.

Braised Leeks

Ingredients

• 4-6 leeks (long and white)
• 1 garlic clove – minced
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chicken stock

Directions

Cut off the leek tops, leaving the white and little of the light green. Slice through the leek lengthwise, leaving 1 inch uncut to keep your leek together. Clean the leeks under cold running water. Once clean, finish the cut, making two long pieces of leek.

In a wide sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium, add minced garlic, and the leeks, cut side down. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn over and sprinkle with salt, and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.

Return leeks to cut side is down, sprinkle with thyme and a pinch of salt. Add the stock, bay leaf, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook 35-45 minutes over medium-low heat.

When the leeks are tender, uncover the pot and bring the pan liquids to a rolling boil. Let this reduce by half, turn off the heat. Remove from liquids, and serve.