Best Tomato And Fennel Braised Lamb Shanks Recipes

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH TOMATO AND FENNEL

Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato and Fennel image

Braising lamb shanks makes them meltingly tender. Serve with Polenta for a hearty meal.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Meat & Poultry Lamb Recipes

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

4 1 1/2-pound lamb shanks, trimmed
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large leek, white and light-green parts only, washed well, sliced into 1/4-inch half moons
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock
1 twenty-eight-ounce can peeled whole plum tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 dried bay leaves
2 medium fennel bulbs, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season lamb all over with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge lamb in flour, turning to coat evenly; shake off excess. Heat oil and butter in an 8-quart Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Working in two batches, cook until shanks are well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer shanks to a large plate; drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet.
Place skillet over medium heat; add onions and leek, and saute until they are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook 4 minutes more. Add red wine; deglaze pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Return shanks to skillet, and add chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; cover, and place in oven. Braise 2 hours; add fennel, and cook 30 minutes.
Using a slotted spatula, transfer shanks and vegetables to a large bowl. Cover; set aside. Using a ladle, skim fat from surface of cooking liquid; cook over medium heat until liquid is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Return shanks and vegetables to pan; cook until heated through. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.

TOMATO AND FENNEL BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Tomato and Fennel Braised Lamb Shanks image

From The Cook's Book of Intense Flavors by Robert and Molly Krause: The versatile sweet tomato makes a great base for anise-flavored fennel and tangy mustard. Plus, you can employ many different cooking techniques to both the tomato and fennel. Use them both raw for a fresh salad with a Dijon fennel seed vinaigrette. Roast the tomato and fennel and season them with mustard seed for a brothy soup. Puree all three ingredients for a creamy soup. Or go the route of the application recipe and season a braised lamb dish with this ingredient combo. These flavors are well suited to fish, chicken, beef, or lamb. This dish needs several hours in the oven so start early if you plan to eat it the same day you cook it. Serve these shanks in a shallow bowl with something such as polenta to absorb the delicious braising liquid.

Provided by College Girl

Categories Lamb/Sheep

Time 3h15m

Yield 4 shanks, 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients

4 1/2 lbs lamb shanks, trimmed
salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour, all purpose
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup dry red wine, such as cab sav
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
2 onions, yellow sliced into 1/4 in. wedges
1 leek, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 in. pieces (don't use dark green part)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup Pernod (or other anise liqueur)
2 cups chicken stock
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
2 bulbs fennel, cut into 1/4 in slices

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375.
Season all sides of the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and then dredge in flour to coat.
In a large skillet, heat 1/4 c of olive oil and the butter over medium high heat. Sear the lamb until brown, turning to cook all sides. Transfer shanks to a roasting pan.
In the skillet, spoon out all but a couple of spoonfuls of fat. Over medium heat, deglaze the pan with the red wine, stirring to remove the stuck scraps. Whisk in the mustard and cook for 2 minutes. Coat the lamb shanks with the red wine-mustard mixture and set aside.
In a large, clean skillet, heat the remaining 2 T of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and leek and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Add the Pernod and increase the heat to medium-high, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves; stir to incorporate the tomato paste. Add the sliced fennel to the roasting pan with the lamb. Pour the skillet's contents over the lamb and fennel and cover with aluminum foil.
Braise for 2 1/2 bours. Skim any fat off the surface of the liquid. Serve braised shanks with vegetables and cooking broth.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1649.8, Fat 92, SaturatedFat 32.9, Cholesterol 477.9, Sodium 652.7, Carbohydrate 45.5, Fiber 8.4, Sugar 12.2, Protein 144.3