I own a lot of excellent cookbooks. I try to cook out of all of them, but it’s an impossible task. This year I made one resolution. I would pick a cookbook I‘d never used and, well, use it. The first cookbook to benefit from my resolution was Chez Panisse Cooking , a beautiful book written by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters.
I closed my eyes and opened the book and then looked. It was meant to happen. A lamb shank recipe. Imagine that. But such a different take on the lamb shank. A soup. A wonderful tomatoey, garlicky soup base with blackeyed peas (I happened to have them on hand) and topped with a gremolata that brings thoughts of summer to mind. Maybe resolutions aren’t so hard to keep after all.
Lamb Shank Soup with Tomatoes and Shell Beans
adapted from Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lamb shanks, trimmed of all fat
2 carrots, diced
1-½ red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
15 cloves garlic, peeled
4 Turkish bay leaves
4-5 springs Italian parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 14 ounce cans San Marzano plum tomatoes, save the juice, dice the tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
9 cups water
1 cup fresh black eyed peas, speckled butter beans or flageolets
For the gremolata
Small handful Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
Grate the zest of 1 lemon
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven. Season the shanks with salt and coarsely ground black pepper and add to pot and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, turn to brown the sides. Remove from pot. Throw out any fat and add the carrots, onions and celery. If you need to add a bit more olive oil, go for it.
Lamb Shank Soup with Tomatoes and Shell Beans
adapted from Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lamb shanks, trimmed of all fat
2 carrots, diced
1-½ red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
15 cloves garlic, peeled
4 Turkish bay leaves
4-5 springs Italian parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 14 ounce cans San Marzano plum tomatoes, save the juice, dice the tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
9 cups water
1 cup fresh black eyed peas, speckled butter beans or flageolets
For the gremolata
Small handful Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
Grate the zest of 1 lemon
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven. Season the shanks with salt and coarsely ground black pepper and add to pot and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, turn to brown the sides. Remove from pot. Throw out any fat and add the carrots, onions and celery. If you need to add a bit more olive oil, go for it.
Raise the heat and brown for 15 minutes, stir to keep from burning.
Take a piece of cheesecloth and wrap the whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and add to the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato juice and balsamic vinegar. Put the lamb shanks on top and cover with the water. Bring to gentle boil, reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Cook for two hours uncovered.
Remove from pot when done and transfer lamb to plate to cool. Remove the cheesecloth And discard.
While the shanks cook, simmer black eyed peas in 1 quart water with a bit of salt. When tender remove from heat and set aside.
Bring the heat back up and let pot simmer for 15 minutes. There will be some lovely orangey gray fat and foam that will rise to surface. Be sure to skim all of that off. Be diligent.
When shanks are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, pull apart and put back in the pot. Drain black eyed peas and add to pot.
Bring back to simmer and taste to season.
Mix the gremolata ingredients together.
Serve the soup and sprinkle the gremolata on top. Or you can do like me and fling the gremolata all over everything for the thrill of it!
Serves 6
