Best Braised Lamb With Radishes And Mint Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously season lamb shanks with salt and black pepper.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place lamb shanks in the Dutch oven, cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer shanks to a plate. Drain off remaining oil and fat so only 1 tablespoon remains in the Dutch oven.
• Stir onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt into the Dutch oven; decrease heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, chipotle chile powder, ancho chile powder, and ground cinnamon; stir to combine.
• Pour 1 cup chicken broth over onion mixture. Increase heat to high; when liquid boils, place lamb shanks in Dutch oven. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for 90 minutes.
• Remove Dutch oven and stir in jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper and 1/2 cup chicken stock; bring to a boil on the stovetop. Return pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, until lamb shanks are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate.
• Place Dutch oven on the stovetop over high heat; bring liquid to a boil and cook, skimming off any foam, until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over lamb shanks and serve.

ROSEMARY-HONEY BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER AND MINT JASMATI RICE

Steps:

• For the lamb: Heat a medium size stockpot that can hold the lamb shoulder. Using a skewer, poke the lamb as deep as a sprig of rosemary. Completely insert rosemary in holes. (You can go around the top-side of the lamb like a crown.) Season the lamb well with salt and pepper. Mix together the flour, chile powder and cumin and rub on the lamb. Coat the pot with oil and sear the lamb on 1 side until brown. Rotate the lamb so all sides get brown, about 15-20 minutes total. Remove the lamb and set aside on a plate. Gently wipe out the pot and place back on high heat. Coat again with oil and saute the garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, celery and season. Add bay leaves and deglaze with red wine. Add the chickpeas, honey and soy. Add back the lamb and water to cover. Check for flavor of the braising liquid and season accordingly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 3 to 4 hours, or until fork tender.
• Make the rice using Fuji technique and a rice cooker. Meanwhile, blanch the mint in salted water for 30 seconds and shock in ice water. In a blender, puree the mint with the honey, garlic and oil. Season and set aside. When rice is done, fluff with fork before serving.
• Plating: On a very large platter, make a large ring of rice. Drizzle the mint puree on the rice. Place lamb and vegetables in the middle. Pull out the rosemary 1/3 out to resemble a small crown. Serve family style with harissa on the side.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH MINT AND FLAGEOLETS

Steps:

• Wipe the lamb shanks dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with the garlic, rosemary, mint, thyme and two tablespoons olive oil. Season with pepper and marinate overnight. Rinse and pick over the flageolets. Soak overnight in water.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the remaining olive oil. Dredge lamb shanks in flour and brown them on all sides.
• Remove the lamb and add the onions with the garlic from the marinade. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, white wine and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and scrape up the cooking juices. Add the lamb shanks, which should fit in one layer, and bake in the oven for two hours, covered or until tender. A large cast-iron casserole is good for this.
• Meanwhile, bring the beans to a boil, drain them and add four cups of fresh cold water. Simmer for about an hour or until cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• When the lamb shanks are cooked, remove them from the sauce. Reduce the sauce so that it is thick enough to coat the shanks without being too soupy. Put the beans on the outer edges of a serving dish and put the shanks in the middle. Top them with the sauce and sprinkle with the fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately.

BRAISED LAMB WITH HORSERADISH AND PARSLEY

Steps:

• Make the lamb:
• 1. Combine the salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a large, deep skillet with a tight-fitting cover, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add as many of the lamb cubes as will fit without crowding and cook, undisturbed, until they are well browned on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. (You will inevitably have to brown in batches.) Turn the cubes over, season with some of the salt and pepper mix, and brown on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat (the browning will take about 15 minutes total if your skillet is 12 inches or larger). Adjust the heat so the pieces brown as rapidly as possible without burning. Turn off the heat and let the pan cool for 1 minute.
• 2. Turn the heat back to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 1 minute. Pour the stock, wine, or water into the pan, raise the heat, and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any cooked-on bits. Simmer for 1 minute.
• 3. Add the browned lamb, along with any juices that have collected on the plate. Bring the pot to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat until the mixture simmers very gently.
• 4. Peel the horseradish and cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices (keep the root from your eyes and nose; it's pungent). Stir the horseradish into the pot. Simmer, covered, until the lamb is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (shoulder meat will cook faster than leg meat). Taste the lamb before serving and add more salt and pepper if desired.
• Make the parsley purée:
• 5. In a blender combine the parsley with half the olive oil and the garlic cloves. Purée to a rough paste, then pour in the remaining oil while the blender is running and process to a smooth paste. Mix in the vinegar and salt, taste, and adjust the seasonings if desired.
• 6. Serve the stew, passing the parsley purée on the side.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• In a large bowl (or covered container) large enough to hold the lamb, mix together salt, paprika and pepper. Add shanks and rub all over with spice mix. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours (or up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat a very thin film of olive oil. Sear the lamb in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, adding more oil as needed. Take your time with this, making sure to brown the lamb all over. Transfer browned lamb to a roasting pan.
• When all the lamb is cooked, add onion to empty skillet and cook it in the lamb drippings, adding a more oil if pan looks dry, until limp and lightly browned at the edges, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, coriander, cayenne and allspice and cook until the garlic is very fragrant and opaque, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Pour in wine and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on bottom of pan. Let mixture simmer until thickened and reduced by about a third (about 5 minutes). Pour over lamb.
• In a bowl, toss together scallions, spicy greens, and herbs. Sprinkle lamb with half the herb mixture and set remaining half aside for serving. Cover pan with two layers of foil (or heavy-duty foil) and bake until meat is falling off the bones, 3 to 3 1/2 hours total, turning shanks every hour so they cook evenly. If the bottom of the pan starts to dry out before lamb is done, add a few tablespoons of the stock or water to moisten it.
• When shanks are tender, transfer to a heated serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. If you like, at this point you can tear the meat off the bones; or, serve the shanks bone-in.
• On top of the stove, heat roasting pan over medium-low heat. If pan is dry, add remaining stock or water and bring to a simmer. (If drippings in pan seem very fatty, spoon off some of the fat.) Add currants and bring drippings to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on bottom of pan.
• Once the liquid is reduced to a thin glaze, add butter to pan along with all but 2 tablespoons of the remaining herbs (save those 2 tablespoons for garnish). Whisk sauce until smooth, then taste and add lemon juice as needed. Pour sauce over the lamb and garnish with chopped herbs. Serve immediately.