Next Wednesday (March 17) is St Patrick's Day and with it comes a once a year opportunity to claim Irish heritage. It's a day synonymous with good craic and the wearing of dodgy leprechaun hats, but there's also much to admire about the culinary delights of the Emerald Isle. And no, I'm not just talking about Guinness.
Lamb is the chief ingredient in a variety of dishes, including the ubiquitous - and much maligned - Irish Stew. Given a 21st century makeover, the irish flavours of lamb, potatoes, bacon, onions and Guinness can transcend the most clichéd of Orish caricatures
Brewed since 1759, Guinness is the definitive stout. The black thick brew with the creamy head, it is renowned for improving one's appetite and was regularly prescribed - for genuine medicinal purposes - to those whose appetite was suppressed due to illness. As recently as the 1990s I remember my Auntie, who only ever had the occasional sherry and who was recuperating from the ravages of major surgery, screwing up her face as she drank half a pint of Guinness an hour before her evening meal. It worked; she was soon eating like a horse again.
Our friends at Guinness forwarded to us a recipe for Lamb Shanks gently braised in a drop of Guinness and it's pretty hard to resist now that the nights are starting to cool and we can turn our attention to slow cooked braises. While Lamb Shanks are not as cheap as they once were, they are worthy of a good braise in strong flavours, especially when given the long cooking time to meld those flavours together. Served with that stand-out accompaniment, Champ, you've got yourself a dish to remember. May the road rise up to meet you.
Lamb Shanks Braised in Guinness
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Serves 6
Ingredients:
6 lamb shanks; Flour, for dredging; Salt and pepper; 1/3 cup olive oil; 12 small white onions, peeled
3 large carrots, sliced; 3 stalks celery, sliced; 1 clove garlic, finely chopped; 2 sprigs of rosemary; 3 sprigs of thyme; 3 tblsp good balsamic vinegar;1 cup Guinness; 3/4 cup beef stock
Lightly moisten the lamb shanks with water. In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine
the flour, salt, and pepper and dredge the meat.
In a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the lamb
shanks and cook on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a deep, ovenproof casserole dish.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and thyme to the frying pan and
cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly to absorb the pan juices. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, then combine the
vegetables and pan juices with the lamb.
Add the Guinness, and beef stock, cover, and simmer very gently for until the meat is tender, 1
1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
To serve, place a lamb shank in the middle of a broad soup bowl and spoon
vegetables and broth around, with some Champ on the side.
Champ - Traditional Irish Mashed Potatoes
Serves 6
6 medium potatoes; 1/2 bunch spring onions; 1 1/2 cups milk; 125g butter; sea salt and white pepper to taste
Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters, cover with water and a pinch of sea salt, then simmer for 15 mins until tender. Drain and return potatoes to hot pan off the heat.
Trim and peel spring onions, slice finely and add white parts on onions to the milk ina medium sized saucepan. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and allow onions to infuse the milk while potatoes are cooking.
Push potatoes through mouli or potato ricer into the hot saucepan that you boiled the spuds in. Add the butter and mash together. Pour in the milk and onions, 1/2 cup at a time until the spuds have absorbed all the milk, and the mash is creamy and silken but not so moist that it becomes sloppy. Add the green parts of the spring onions and season with salt (it will need quite a bit) and pepper to taste.