And now for something completely different.

Well sort of, this is like a tomato/lamb version of hoppin john, with different beans and no rice.  Ok maybe’s its completely different.

Ingredients

• Two lamb foreshanks (~3 lbs total, bone in)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 smallish yellow onion diced
• 1 large yellow onion peeled and cut in two halves
• 1 large carrot diced
• 8 cloves garlic minced and into two piles: 3/4ths and 1/4th
• Leaves of rosemary from 4-8 sprigs
• 1/2 lb Cannellini beans
• Bouquet garni of thyme, parsley, bay
• 1 28oz can crushed tomato
• 2 tbs olive oil
• Salt + Pepper

Timing

Ooh a new section!  It’s important to have everything come together at the same time.  Because I think its better to cook the beans and lamb separately (the lamb throws off a lot of fat) you need to time it.

1. Overnight soak beans
2. Sear lamb shanks – 20-30 mins
3. Braise lamb shanks – 2 hours
4. 1.5 hour in to braise start cooking beans
5. Evac lamb – let rest for 20 mins
6. Shred lamb cook w/ tomato sauce 15 minutes

All told this is going to take ~3 hours from the time your Lamb hits the pan.  3.5 total.

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight in 2qts water spiked with 2 tbs of kosher salt
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Trim lamb shanks, season with salt and pepper
4. In dutch oven sear all sides on high, then evac
5. Turn dutch oven down to medium low – wait a few minutes for it to cool
6. Cook the diced onion and carrots until soft.
7. Add the large pile of garlic and rosemary, cook for a minute or so more.
8. Return lamb to dutch oven
9. Pour in wine, pour in stock until liquid is 2/3rds of the way up the lamb
10. Bring to a boil, cover, throw in oven.
11. Turn shanks after 1 hour.
12. Cook the beans in their soaking liquid along with bouquet garni and one of the onion halves.  Should take an hour.  Add water/stock as needed
13. When lamb is fall off the bone tender, evac.
14. There is delicious liquid in the bottom of the dutch oven, covered by fat.  Use all your thanksgiving skills (aka a gravy separator or old fashioned skimming) to get it out.  You’ll want to save a cup or so
15. While the lamb is resting – make the tomato sauce
    1. In a small pan, cook the garlic in the olive oil for a couple minutes
    2. Add the tomato and the other half onion
    3. Bring to temp on high, reduce to low
16. Shred the lamb off the bone – add to the tomato sauce
17. Drain the beans – toss the onion and the bouquet.
18. Return beans to the pan and mix (gently) in the delicious braising liquid you saved.
19. Plate – beans on bottom, tomato lamb sauce on top.  If you are feeling fancy garnish with a sprig of rosemary.