Lamb Shanks With Mushroom Bolognese

Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 lb mixed fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped (such as morel, shiitake, chanterelle, and domestic)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup diced onion (1/4-inch dice)
• 1/2 cup diced carrot (1/4-inch dice)
• 1/2 cup diced celery (1/4-inch dice)
• 2 cups dry red
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups chicken stock or 3 cups canned low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups peeled seeded and chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned, depending on season)
• 1/2 lb dried orecchiette
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 300°f.
• 2 heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, deep, ovenproof pot over medium heat until hot.
• 3 season the shanks with salt and pepper and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• 4 remove to a plate.
• 5 raise the heat to medium-high, add the mushrooms, and do not move them until they begin to brown, about 1 minute.
• 6 season with salt and pepper and sauté until brown all over, about 5 minutes.
• 7 remove to another plate and reserve for final assembly.
• 8 reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to the pot, and heat until hot.
• 9 add the garlic and sauté briefly until light brown.
• 10 add the onion, carrot, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until light brown, about 8 minutes.
• 11 add the and bay leaf, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until reduced by half.
• 12 add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil again.
• 13 season with salt and pepper.
• 14 return the meat to the pot, cover, and place in the oven to braise until fork tender.
• 15 test at 2 hours, but the shanks may take as long as 4 hours.
• 16 let the meat cool in the liquid to room temperature.
• 17 remove from the braising liquid and reserve separately.
• 18 skim off and discard the fat from the braising liquids.
• 19 (the recipe may be made to this point a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. see chef's note.) bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• 20 add salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.
• 21 drain.
• 22 meanwhile, pour the defatted braising liquids into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
• 23 reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, skimming the surface all the while.
• 24 add the basil and oregano.
• 25 return the shanks to the sauce and simmer gently just until heated through, then remove and keep warm.
• 26 add the mushrooms and pasta to the sauce and heat gently until warm through.
• 27 pour a large, deep platter or divide among plates and top with the shanks.
• 28 serve immediately.
• 29 variation: if you wish to serve the meat off the bone (which turns this into a pasta dish rather than meat on a bed of pasta), tear the meat into big chunks and return it to the sauce with the mushrooms.
• 30 cook just until reheated.
• 31 add the pasta, stir, and heat through.
• 32 taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
• 33 chef's note: it is acceptable and even preferable to do this dish a day ahead.
• 34 it is much easier to defat the braising liquid after it has been refrigerated.
• 35 the meat can even cook while you sleep.
• 36 for example, from to 6:00 a.
• 37 m.
• 38 at 250°f.
• 39 you can also cook the whole dish in a covered pot on the stove-top.
• 40 there is a caramelization of flavors in oven braising that stove-top cooking does not replicate.
• 41 if the shanks are cracked — cut through the bone in the middle — they will cook through to tenderness more rapidly, closer to 2 hours than 4 hours.