Garden-braised lamb shanks over garlic mashed potatoes
The Farm has lots going on under the ground in the way of potatoes, carrots, garlic, and onions. The Farmer’s Wife has gathered those (and a tomato or two), and taken them into the Farm kitchen. There, they’re washed if they need washing, peeled if they need peeling, and roughly chopped. Several lamb shanks are set out to room temperature before they’re put in a large cast-iron skillet sizzling with browned butter. They’re turned this way and that, making sure all sides are a nice brown. The shanks are removed and set aside to rest and all those vegetables that grow under the ground are added–you know the ones–the garlic, the onions, and the carrots. They’re left to themselves a bit. Once you start to smell what they’re all about, the shanks go back in, as well as the peeled, chopped tomatoes. A few inches or so of good bone chicken stock is added–or beef stock, if that’s what you’ve got.
The Farmer’s wife just made a batch of chicken stock a week or so ago, so that’s what’s going in hers. There’s lots of fresh herbs on the Farm, so the Farmer’s wife adds a sprig or two of rosemary and one of thyme, pressing it lightly in.
If you have a woodstove, the skillet can be set on top for the day. By tonight, you’ll have dinner ready. But, seeing’s that the Farmer’s Wife left her woodstove at the house in the Village, she’s setting her skillet in the oven to roast low (300 degrees) for three hours, making sure it’s covered with foil until the last half-hour.
Nothing goes better with Garden-braised lamb shanks then garlic mashed potatoes, and seeing as there’s no shortage of both potatoes and garlic on the Farm, that’s what they’re having.
The potatoes are peeled and diced and set in a pan of cold water just above their heads. Several cloves of garlic join them there and are boiled until each are tender. The whole thing is drained, leaving the steaming potatoes and garlic in the pan. To that, the Farmer’s wife adds butter, lots of butter, and fresh cream, about a quarter cup to each two medium potatoes. She tends to enjoy a bit salt and pepper, so she adds that as well, to her own liking. The whole concoction is mashed–that is why they call it mashed potatoes after all–until all is smooth and creamy and right with the world.
In the center of each plate is placed a hearty helping of potatoes, a shank, and a ladle full of the pan-drippings, to cover it all.
So, if you see the Farmer and he asks you, you can tell him that’s what’s for dinner tonight.
