Braised lamb shanks with horseradish and fennel mashed potatoes.
Photo by Iuliia Nedrygailova
Serves 6
6 lamb shanks, preferably bone-in
2 tablespoons Greek seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 cups dry red wine
3 cups beef stock
28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
Mashed potatoes
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
2 fennel bulbs, stalks removed and outer layer discarded (reserve stalks)
1 cup olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons horseradish
Preheat oven to 350 F. Pat shanks dry with a paper towel and sprinkle generously with Greek seasoning. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the shanks on all sides, working in batches if needed. Remove shanks to a large platter and set aside.
Skim off excess fat in pot, leaving just enough to sauté vegetables, and return to heat. Sauté onions, celery, carrots and garlic until vegetables brighten in color, 5–7 minutes. Add wine and scrape the brown bits on the bottom of pot. Cook until wine reduces by about half. Add stock, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, thyme and rosemary. Taste and add additional seasoning if desired. Return shanks to pot and submerge in the liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and transfer to preheated oven. Cook 2½ hours or until fork-tender, adding a little more stock if needed.
While shanks are cooking, prepare potatoes by bringing salted water to boil in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and lower heat, cooking until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove potatoes and set aside, reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid. Slice fennel bulbs in half, removing the cores, then cut each half into ½-inch slices. In a saucepan containing ½ cup oil, add the fennel and ½ teaspoon salt. On very low heat, poach fennel in oil, uncovered, for 12–15 minutes until soft. Add fennel to a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the poaching oil, and puree. Using a potato ricer or food mill, puree the potatoes. Fold the fennel puree and horseradish into the potatoes and return to saucepan. Fold in salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons chopped fennel fronds—only the tiny delicate fronds, not the woody stems. Add the remaining oil along with ½ cup of the salty potato cooking liquid. Add more liquid, if needed, until you get the desired consistency.