Darina Allen's Game Changing Braised Lamb Shanks with Garlic, Rosemary and Cannelini Beans

Lamb Shanks with Garlic, Rosemary and Cannellini Beans

March is when the rest of the world takes notice and we all become Irish for a day. We start wearing as many colours of green as the Irish hills and dales, drinking green beer and Guinness at our favourite local pubs and singing renditions of Danny Boy in our best pitched voices. L'il Burnt Toast is named after the Emerald Isle so it holds special meaning for us, even if we are not Irish, and we have always celebrated with food. Farm fresh spring lamb flavoured with fresh rosemary, smoked Irish salmon served with Connemara Peated Single Malt Whiskey, and black pudding will exercise your taste buds as you imagine taking in the sights and sounds of the Emerald Isle along one of Ireland’s many tasty food trails. 


So what better way to bring a little Irish into your life than to discover our next Game Changer Darina Allen who is the owner of the internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, County Cork, Ireland. As well as running the school and teaching classes there, she writes newspaper columns, articles and cookbooks, most of which focus on Irish cuisine. The school is part of an organic farm that grows much of the food used at the school and the nearby Ballymaloe House bed and breakfast.

She is not limited to being an author and instructor, Darina has also appeared on a number of television shows and series and is a culinary celebrity in Ireland.

Darina is a founder of the first farmers markets in Ireland and involved on an ongoing basis in helping to set up new markets. She is very involved with the Midleton Farmers Market and the Slow Food Movement and is president of East Cork Convivium of Slow Food. As you can see she wears many hats and does it well!! How fortuitous that Darina is our Game Changer this week just in time for St. Paddy's Day!

One of our simple pleasures in life is navigating the blogging community and participating where the feeling takes us. Our group is now well past the halfway point on the list of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers. The past ninth months have flown by as we experimented with dishes from each of the 50 influential women on "the list." Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty and their order it has been an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters and those we admire. There have even been a few successful bloggers on the list. We have checked out books from the library, borrowed cookbooks from friends, surfed the Internet and browsed our own cookbook collections seeking that one recipe that will highlight that weeks outstanding woman. This group is spearheaded by my favourite well-travelled blogger Mary of One Perfect Bite who back in June 2011 invited bloggers to travel along on a culinary journey throughout the year. It is still not too late to join in in 2012.

So what have we been up to with our next Game Changer... 

Mary of One Perfect Bite - Ballymaloe Brown Yeast Bread
Val of More Than Burnt Toast - Braised Lamb Shanks with Garlic, Rosemary and Cannelini Beans
Susan of The Spice Garden - Mincemeat Crumble Tart 
Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed - Strawberry Quark  
Heather of Girlichef - Lemon Meringue Pie 
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney - Brown Butter Soda Bread
Jeanette at Jeanette's Healthy Living - Grilled Chicken with Parsley Salad and Sundried Tomatoes  
Kathleen Van Bruinisse at Bake Away with Me- Kumquat Jam
Sue of View from The Great Island- Brown Bread and Homemade Butter
Linda of There and Back Again- Seville Orange Marmalade Cake
Barbara of Moveable Feasts - Brown Bread
Nancy of Picadillo - Winter Leek and Potato Soup
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits- Toasted Bread Pudding
Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen - Irish Soda Bread/Spotted Dog
Annie  at Most Lovely Things
Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook
Alyce of More Time at The Table- Brown Soda Bread
Amrita of Beetle's Kitchen Escapades - Potato and Caraway Cakes

Part of the reason why I continue with this challenge is to do exactly that and challenge myself each week with either a new technique or in this case a "new to me" food. I have seen many mouth-watering dishes for braised shanks "of the beef kind" and I thought it was time to venture into this home-spun dish. With one foot lightly in the cold, damp wintry days and one foot skipping into Spring I decided to go with this homespun dish to bring me the best of both worlds. What doesn't say Spring more than lamb!!!This dish is where the magic of slow cooking transforms something that, cooked on a high heat, would be very tough into something melt- in-your mouth tender.

De reir a cheile a thogtar na caisleain [deh rare ah kay-lee a hug-tar nah cosh-lawn] is something the Irish may be well qualified to advise on in today’s hectic world. It means “It takes time to build castles.” Just as it takes time to build a life and castles it takes time to make these slowly roasted lamb shanks. You will be happy you reinvented the wheel and tried this version of an old classic.  I love simple clean dishes and figured this would be a good one to try leading up to or after drinking my green beer. 

**Braised Lamb Shanks with Garlic, Rosemary and Cannellini 

Beans**

4 lamb shanks, about 1kg 

8 small sprigs of rosemary

8 slivers garlic
4 anchovy fillets, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato fondue:


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
110g onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
900g very ripe tomatoes, peeled
salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar to taste
2 tablespoons of any or a combination of the following: freshly chopped mint, thyme, parsley, lemon balm, marjoram or torn basil
a few drops of balsamic vinegar (optional)

For braising:


30g duck fat or olive oil
225g streaky bacon
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic head, halved horizontally
225ml bottle good red wine
300ml lamb or chicken stock (see below)
sprig of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 strips of dried orange peel
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained or 200g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight then boiled rapidly for 30 mins
600ml homemade chicken or lamb stock
2 sprigs of thyme
leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped
sprigs of rosemary, for garnish

To make the tomato fondue heat the oil in a casserole or stainless-steel saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and toss until coated. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat until the onions and garlic are soft but not coloured.

Slice the tomatoes and add with all the juice to the onions. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Add a generous sprinkling of herbs. Cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften. A few drops of balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking will greatly enhance the flavour.

Next, preheat the oven to 150ºC/Gas 2. Remove most of the fat from each shank and then scrape the meat away from the bone to loosen it.

Make two deep incisions in each joint and insert a sprig of rosemary and a sliver of garlic wrapped in half an anchovy fillet into each incision. Season the meat with salt and black pepper.

Heat the duck fat or olive oil in a heavy sauté pan or casserole and sauté the meat until it is well browned on all sides. Remove the lamb shanks from the pan.

Next add the bacon and cook until crisp, then add the carrots, celery, leek, onion and garlic and cook over a high heat until slightly browned. Add the red wine to the pan and bring to the boil, stirring for a minute or two.

Add the stock, herbs and orange peel to the pan, then place the lamb shanks on top. Cover and cook in the oven for 2¼ hours.

Remove from the oven and add the tomato fondue, cannellini beans, herbs and enough stock to half-cover the beans. Cover and simmer for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the lamb has finished cooking it should be falling off the bone. Remove the thyme, bay leaves and orange peel. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Serve the lamb shanks in a hot, deep dish with the beans and vegetables poured over and around. Garnish with sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme.

Serves 4

This post is also perfect for one of our Game Changer participants and my BBFF who is hosting My Legume Love Affair this month. Heather of Girlichef is hosting the 45th edition.  This is a popular event which is the baby of Susan of A Well Seasoned Cook.
















You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2012/03/50-women-game-changers-in-food-38.html