Earth to Table Cookbook

The recipe for lamb shanks is from Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann’s new book “Earth to Table”, mod­i­fied a bit. When mak­ing it I real­ized I didn’t have any red wine that I wanted to cook with, only a very good bot­tle from Uncle Monty’s cellar.

Allow me to inter­rupt myself for a moment and ask a ques­tion on your behalf. What wine should you cook with? I asked Toronto’s top chefs and here’s what they had to say: thestar.com arti­cle ».

Back in the kitchen, I swapped in some beer –Sleeman’s Original Draft, which is what was in the fridge. It made for a milder sauce but was still deli­cious. I plated the shanks with some braised esca­role, but­tery mashed pota­toes and some of Sable & Rosenfeld’s Three Pepper Smash for a sweet tangy hit. We drank the pricey bot­tle with din­ner and appre­ci­ated it much more than we would have in the sauce.

Braised Lamb Shanks

Serves 4

• 4 small lamb shanks (about 8 ounces each)
• salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks cel­ery, roughly chopped
• 1 car­rot, same
• 1 onion, same
• 1 leek, (white and light green parts only, well washed) same
• 1 sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 4 cups beef stock

Lamb Shanks with Mash

Generously sea­son lamb with salt and pep­per. In a large skil­let, heat oil over high heat until smok­ing. Add lamb and cook, turn­ing, until golden brown on all sides. About 10 min. Reduce heat to medium and using tongs trans­fer lamb to large Dutch oven or casse­role dish and set aside.

Add veg­eta­bles and herbs to pan, saute until golden brown, 8 min. Add wine and cook, scrap­ing up any brown bits from the bot­tom of the pan, until reduced by half, about 5 min­utes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, pre­heat oven to 325.

Pour every­thing over lamb. Liquid should cover the shanks; if it doesn’t, add water or more stock until cov­ered). Cover with lid or tin­foil and bake, turn­ing every 20 min. until meat is very ten­der and yields eas­ily when pierced with a knife. About 3 hours. Remove meat, strain sauce and reduce by half.