BRAISED LAMB STEW WITH CANNELLINI BEANS

BRAISED LAMB STEW WITH CANNELLINI BEANS image

Yield 6 small

Number Of Ingredients 18

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 pounds lamb shoulder, bone-in, cut in 3-inch pieces
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups onions, sliced thin
6 fresh sage leaves (or 1 tsp dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth, (use a concentrate with water)
1 1/2 cups cannellini beans, dry
4 cups water
2 whole garlic cloves, sliced in half
3 fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish for meat:
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Steps:

1. Pour enough vegetable oil into a skillet to cover the bottom completely and turn on the heat to medium high. 2. When the oil is hot, dredge the lamb pieces in the flour, one by one, and add gently to the pan. Brown the meat on all sides, then transfer the to a plate, adding more lamb pieces, until all the lamb has been browned. Pour off the grease but keep the fond that's on the bottom. 3. Preheat oven to 350°. 4. Choose a large, lidded pot (large enough to hold all the meat and the beans), and preferably one that can go from oven to rangetop. Into this large pot add the olive oil, sliced onions, and sage. Turn heat to medium and cook onions, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it becomes a light brown (but not burned). 5. Add the meat, turning it 2-3 times and heat until the meat begins to sizzle, then add salt, some grindings of ground black pepper and the white wine. 6. Meanwhile, dissolve the tomato paste in the beef broth and set aside. Simmer at medium-high heat the onions and wine and when almost all of the wine has boiled off, add the beef broth mixture and the fond from the frying pan. Bring back to a simmer, then cover and place the pot in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, removing it every 30 minutes and stirring it. 7. Drain the beans and taste for seasoning (salt and pepper). You'll find these need more salt than you think. Pour the beans into the lamb stew pot and gently stir. Cover and bake another 15 minutes, until the mixture is warmed through. Remove any of the bones that have loosened completely and discard. 9. Pour the stew out onto (or into) a large heated platter or bowl and sprinkle top with the raw garlic and the chopped parsley.