Dec 14 2008
More Red Wine Please… Braised Lamb Shanks
I have so many half-empty bottles of red wine left that I don’t know what to do with them! I’ve been experimenting using red wine in many recipes, and it always turns out so wonderfully. Don’t buy the red cooking wine; I always think it’s too salty and doesn’t have same tastes as the red wine that you drink and savor with friends and company.
Kids shouldn’t touch red wine at all… except when it comes to cooking. The smell of red wine in the kitchen as it cooks is just heaven. You know the food is going to be good!
Today’s recipe is a simple braised lamb shanks recipe. As with many of my other recipes, it has my two favorite ingredients: mushrooms and garlic. If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now. I LOVE mushrooms. I think they soak up flavor so well, especially in recipes that call for red wine. Plus, they’re good for you.
This recipe yields 4 lamb shanks, so 4 servings! It takes about 3.5 hours to prepare and cook, so it’s perfect for a Sunday afternoon with you and your kids.
Braised Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
3 large yellow onions, chopped coarsely
2 zucchini, diced and chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 lamb shanks
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Take out a medium baking pan that has a lid. Layer the bottom with the chopped onions, zucchini, and garlic. Place the lamb shanks on top.
Pour the red wine, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil on top of the lamb shanks. Next, add the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle the dried basil, sea salt, and black pepper on top.
Cover the pan and cook in the oven for 3 hours. Serve with two vegetarian sides.
