Buz Whelan

Dinner at the Whelan’s. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 Lamb Shanks, 1 – 2 lbs ea

4T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3” ginger, peeled and finely minced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 Serrano chili, seeded, chopped

1 onion sliced very thin

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2t ground cumin

2t ground coriander seed

2 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise

2 pinches saffron(or more if you can afford it)

1t oregano

3C turkey stock

2 16oz cans peeled tomatoes

12 dried apricots, sliced

S&P to taste

Garnish: sliced toasted almonds, chopped parsley, 20 green and black non-pitted olives

Method:

     Preheat oven to 325. Place EVOO, onion, garlic and ginger in heavy pot or ossa buco pan over medium heat, stir, cooking until softened. Add carrots, celery & spices, cook about 5 min stirring constantly. Add turkey stock, tomatoes with juices, & apricots and bring to a boil. If you used a pot, transfer to deep pyrex dish (or baking dish/casserole). Place shanks in sauce so about ¼ is above sauce. Place in oven, uncovered. Cook, turning about every 40 minutes so you get even browning. When browned to your satisfaction, cover and continue cooking. After a total of about 3 hours, meat will be falling off bone and sauce thickened. Remove from oven, skim off fat and plate, 1 shank per serving. Garnish each with almonds, parsley and olives.

Serving suggestion: plate with your favorite herbed mashed potatoes to soak up the fabulous sauce.