One of my favourite recipes…

To keep you busy until you’re able to visit me in the Teaching Kitchen,
try this gluten-free / dairy-free, Paleo, and/or AIP recipe that is part of my weekly repertoire.

Braised Lamb Shanks

This dish allows you to access all of the wonderful nutrients available in and around the shin bone of the animal.

Ingredients

— Step 1 —

  • 2 lamb shanks
  • 500ml red wine
  • 1 carrot, large dice
  • 1 onion, large dice
  • 3 celery ribs, large dice
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 1 bouquet garni
    • parsley
    • thyme
    • bay leaf

— Step 2 —

  • 4-5 Tbsp olive oil
  • 50g tapioca starch
  • sea salt
  • 1L veal stock (or chicken stock)

Here’s a dish that I had never heard of before going to cooking school.  In these modern times,  meat consumption is more and more asepticized.  But in the « good old days », back when the link between ourselves and our food was far closer to home, we knew instinctively that it was important to eat ALL of the various parts of the animal that gave its life to feed us.  Firstly, it was important to truly honour the animal and prevent food waste.  But also, because each different part of the animal offers different vitamins and minerals.

These days, we tend only to eat what we recognize (which is very little), and the meat that we tend to consome these days (read: ground beef, steak) offers far fewer nutrients than some of the other, less well-known cuts.

  1. In a large container, combine all of the ingredients listed in Step 1 and leave to marinade in the fridge, at least 12 hours.
  2. In preparation for cooking each element separately…
    • remove the lamb shanks and set them aside
    • strain the vegetables through a strainer (but keep the wine !) and set them aside
    • keep the wine in a separate container
  3. Season the lamb shanks with salt, and sear them in olive oil over a medium-high heat until well browned on all surfaces.
  4. In a second dish (that will also go in the oven), sauté the vegetables to give them a light, golden colour.
  5. Transfer the shanks to the vegetable pan and sprinkle with tapioca starch.  Roast in a preheated (500*F) oven for approximately 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and add in red wine.  Reduce on the stove for approximately 5 minutes (** this will allow all of the alcohol to burn off **) before adding the veal stock and bouquet garni. 
  7. Bring to a boil, check your seasoning, and then place back in oven (this time at 375*F) for approximately 2 hours, or until your meat is tender.
  8. In preparation for service, gently remove the lamb shanks from the dish, strain the sauce and check its consistency.  Reduce if necessary before serving.

(After the meal, remember to
put the bones into the freezer
to make bone broth at a later date!)

On completion of cooking school in 2018, Jan Steele (aka La Goose) relocated to the beautiful Cévenne mountains in the South of France.  In her 19th century home made of stone, she teaches clients to reclaim healthful culinary traditions from the past.  Jan also hosts visitors to the region, ensuring that their dietary restrictions -- be they gluten-free, Paleo, or AIP -- are respected to a T.