It's funny you know. When my parents decided to move back to Greece my mother asked me if I was interested in any of her beloved kitchen items, I jumped at the chance and asked for one of her Bessemer pots (I couldn't be greedy and ask for all of them?...could I?).
To bring back a little nostalgia I'm cooking up a Greek dish in honor of all the Greeks here in Australia who use this product.
I braised some lamb shanks in a tomato sauce that was flavored with cinnamon. I love this flavor combination.
I know a lot of people aren't keen on cinnamon and you could omit it but it wouldn't be the same in my opinion . Originally I wanted to braise some goat but couldn't source any however the lamb shanks work well.
Just a note- your house will really take on an enticing aroma when you are cooking this dish-you have been warned!
A traditional way of serving this would be with "hilopites"- a Greek home made pasta. I didn't have any on hand at the time, so I used some dried egg noodles.
After a few hours of braising the shanks in your Country Kitchen pan, the meat should be falling off the bone. I like to pull all the meat off the bone and add it back to the rich, red sauce and serve it tosssed with the noodles. For a final Greek touch grate some "mizithra" over it-if you don't have any Pecorino or Romano make good substitutes.
Cinnamon Braised Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot , finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic , finely diced
- 4 lamb shanks
- 2 cups passata, or use canned, diced tomatoes instead
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ⅓ cup red wine
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a little olive oil in a deep frypan, add the shanks and lightly brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add a little more oil, the onion, carrot, garlic and celery and fry until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, red wine, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and give everything a good stir. Add the browned shanks and bring to the boil and then lower your heat to a simmer.
- Simmer shanks on a low heat for approximately 2-3 hours (this will depend on their size) or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the shanks and set aside to cool down. Once cooled down a little proceed to remove meat completely from the bone.
- Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick from the sauce and add back the shredded meat. Give everything a good stir and ladle the sauce and meat over some cooked egg noodles.
- Top with a sharp grated cheese such as mizithra or Romano.
Notes
- Calories do not include pasta.
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