Fall-Apart Lamb Shanks with Almond- Chocolate Picada

Name: Fall-Apart Lamb Shanks with Almond- Chocolate Picada
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: Salt and freshly ground pepper; Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish; Almond-Chocolate Picada; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 large leek (white and tender green), halved lengthwise and thickly sliced crosswise; 1 onion, thickly sliced; 2 carrots, coarsely chopped; 1 bottle (750 ml) full-bodied red wine; 5 pounds lamb shanks (4 to 6 shanks); 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally; 1 lemon, quartered; ½ cup drained and chopped canned plum tomatoes; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 tablespoon dried thyme; ½ teaspoon cracked black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2003

About

In this recipe I apply to large meaty lamb shanks an old-fashioned method from the Pyrenees traditionally used to prepare wild game. The shanks are marinated overnight in hearty cooked red wine (see chef Thomas Keller’s note), then gently stewed until fork-tender.

A final addition of a picada of well-pounded toasted almonds and unsweetened cocoa produces an ethereal flavor. Picadas in this part of Catalonia are judged by the smooth