Blizzard Fare: Baked Lamb Shanks

The Tuesday after Snowzilla 2016, the meat shelves had been picked nearly bare. Happily, I found a couple of lamb shanks - not quite large enough for a Roald Dahl story, but sizeable nonetheless. A few variations on this New York Times recipe resulted in a hearty, delicious meal that was perfect for a snowbound day.

2 T olive oil
2 large lamb shanks (about 3 lbs. total)
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground cloves
1 t salt, plus more to taste
1/2 t ground pepper
28 oz can whole tomatoes, chopped
1 t oregano
2 c hot water
14.5 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put oil in a large baking dish. Add the lamb shanks, turning them to coat them evenly with oil. Bake 30 minutes, turning once.

Combine the onions, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper. Mix well, then spoon the mixture on top of the lamb shanks.

Combine the tomatoes with the oregano. Mix well, then spoon on top of the onion mixture.

Pour the water around the lamb shanks.

Turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 1-1/2 hours, or till tender (1-1/2 hours was fine, though it could have gone longer for that falling-off-the-bone texture). If the dish begins to dry out, add more hot water.

Add beans to the juices 10 minutes before the end of cooking time. Mix everything and spoon some sauce over each shank before serving.

Black Bean and Pork Chili

We've been pretty good about making a mess of beans or other stew in the slow cooker every weekend (myself, less so about posting them). This past Sunday, we un-vegetarianned a Slow Cooker Revolution black bean chili recipe, adding in a hefty four-pound (five with the bone in) hunk of pork shoulder and skipping the mushrooms (only because there was no more room for them). We also lessened the hot chili powder and de-seeded the jalapenos, since my tummy's still a bit roiled. Despite the gentling, the Cook's Illustrated folks delivered yet again - it's a rich, flavorful stew, though there's perhaps a tad too much liquid. Our version below.

Future tweaks: less pork, add mushrooms and perhaps other vegetables, perhaps lessen the cooking liquid.

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2 onions, minced
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T chili powder
• 4 t mustard seeds
• 1 T cumin powder
• 1 T dried oregano
• 3 c vegetable broth
• 2 c water
• 1 lb. black beans, picked over and rinsed
• 4 lb. pork butt roast, cut into 1-1/2 to 2 in. pieces
• 1 T canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 2 T minced fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, chili powder, mustard seeds, cumin and oregano. Cook till vegetables are soft and slightly browned, 8-10 min. Stir in a cup of the broth. Scrape up any brown bits, then transfer to slow cooker.

Put water, broth, beans, mushrooms, meat, chipotles and bay leaves in slow cooker. Cover and cook till beans are tender and meat is fall-apart soft, 5-7 hours on high or 9-11 on low (took us 5 hours on high).

Stir in cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Oregano Tomato Sauce

Flowerful Lunch, originally uploaded by essgee51.

An embarrassment of riches led to this delicious, simple thing: we let our herbs flower for too long. Though we will have to get new seedlings, at least our meals in the near future will be flavorful and pretty. This makes enough sauce for two hearty servings of pasta (about 1/2 box of whole wheat).

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 c onion,minced (1/2 onion)
• 1 T garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
• 1/8-1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 T minced oregano, plus 1-2T blossoms (or just more leaves)

Put oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, then cook till softening, about 2-3 minutes.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes; saute till fragrant (1-2 min).

Add tomatoes and liquid from can; bring to a healthy simmer and cook till the mixture reaches desired, saucy consistency (anywhere from 10-25 minutes, depending on your tastes - I tend to like some body left in the tomatoes). Add salt and pepper.

Add herbs, then cook a minute or two more. Serve over pasta with additional herbs for garnish and some oil/pasta water if needed for extra body.