Barolo Braised Lamb Shanks

Made with Cambazola Polenta. Recipe courtesy of Sarducci’s Restaurant.

Ingredients

4 medium lamb shanks
2 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
12 cipollini onions
3 large carrots, large dice
2 celery stalks, large dice
1 - 10 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups low sodium beef broth
3 cups red wine
6 cloves garlic
3 each rosemary and thyme sprigs
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. orange zest, minced
1 tsp. lemon zest minced
2 tsp. parsley chopped
1 tsp. garlic minced
6 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup cornmeal
3 sage leaves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. Cambazola rind, removed and cubed

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle lamb with salt, pepper and flour. Heat 2 tbs. of oil in large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add lamb and brown on all sides. Transfer lamb to plate; add remaining oil and all vegetables and sauté while removing fond from bottom of the pan. After stirring two minutes deglaze with red wine. Place lamb into vegetable mixture and add herbs, peppercorns, tomatoes and beef broth. Bring to simmer, cover the pot with a lid and transfer to oven. Cook, turning once, until meat separates easily from the bone in about two hours.

While lamb is cooking prepare the gremolata by combining zests with garlic and parsley. Place to side.

Thirty minutes before the lamb is ready start the polenta by bringing milk, butter, sage and salt to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and gradually whisk in the cornmeal and stir occasionally until the polenta thickens and becomes tender. Stir in the Cambazola and melt.

Remove cooked lamb from pot and skim fat away. At this point you can serve everything as is or remove vegetables as well and tighten the stock by reducing over high heat. Arrange polenta into four bowls with a lamb shank on top. Add braising liquid and vegetables and top with gremolata.