Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog. This is Mary talking first today. Easter is very soon and I think of lamb at this time of year. My mother usually cooked a leg of lamb at Easter. I have such wonderful memories of those times back in San Francisco. My parents, my brother, sister and I and sometimes several relatives gathered in our small dining room in the Sunset. It was a time for us to be together, to share love of family, and great food. Now, all these years later, I still want lamb at Easter and in the springtime. So, today, our post is about a dish I prepared recently, braised lamb shank. We also had a rack of lamb recently at our Cabernet Sauvignon event. You can read about that in an earlier post.
The first thing I noticed when I went to the market for the lamb shank was that it was enormous. I originally thought I would prepare two, one for each of us, but it was so large I decided we could share it. As it turned out, it cooked down quite a bit, but we still had plenty.
Here are the ingredients: the lamb shank, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, white wine, anchovies, and salt and pepper. Look at the size of that lamb shank!
I sautéed the garlic and rosemary in olive oil just until they were both fragrant. The lamb shank was added, browned on all sides, seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I added just enough white wine to cover the bottom of the pan, and that simmered, covered, for about 2.5 hours. As we have said in earlier posts, we like to use La Vieille Ferme blanc. It is perfectly nice for drinking, but inexpensive enough to use for cooking. It’s available for about $10.
This was when I added the wine for braising.
I really don’t like anchovies, but Brian insists that I include them. They are chopped finely and mashed, so you really can’t see them, and he says they add flavor and richness. Whatever. He even eats them on salads. The recipe called for them, so I went along. They were mashed together with a little vinegar and added to the mixture and simmered for about 15 minutes. By now, I noticed the lamb had cooked down quite a bit.
While the lamb was cooking, I prepared polenta, which is just corn meal cooked in boiling water for about 20 minutes with a little real Italian parmigiano reggiano added at the end. The polenta must be stirred to keep it from clumping. I tried a recipe recently that called for preparing it in the oven that turned out well. I might try that again the next time I make polenta.
When the lamb was done, it was moist, tender, falling off the bone. It was delicious with the polenta, a little mint jelly, and it brought back those great memories of family dinners at Easter. Here’s Brian to talk about the wine.
As a Southern boy, I don’t have all that much experience with lamb. Mary has tried to teach me, but I am definitely a novice at the unique flavors and texture of lamb. Maybe it was the polenta and the Mediterranean herbs, but I thought the dish evoked Italian influences. I decided an excellent pairing would be a Barolo. The grape is Nebbiolo, a sturdy, yet elegant and finessed red wine of Piedmont, the northwestern area of Italy. It is near Turin, the site of the 2006 winter Olympics. The southeastern area of France is just to the west.
Barolo is famous for requiring time to reveal itself and to allow the tannins to settle and integrate. This particular wine was produced by E. Pira e Figli and is from a single vineyard site called Cannubi. It was from the 1997 vintage, a classically great vintage in the Piedmont. Here are my notes on the wine.
E. Pira e Figli Barolo Cannubi 1997. This wine was delicious for its elegance, balance, and complexity. Tasted blind, I would have guessed Pinot Noir. It was perfumed of red fruit and flowers, especially rose petals. The palate texture was very smooth with medium acidity and body. The texture was the highlight of the wine, so smooth, balanced, and food friendly. Red cherries, herbs, and licorice were all present on the flavor profile. As we sat and talked and the wine evolved, the aroma profile developed more pronounced floral notes and kind of a tar character. Nicely complex with good length, it was a delicious wine. 13.5% alcohol. We paid $55 for this wine, not an everyday wine but terrific for a special occasion like Easter with friends and family.
One last point…notice the label indicates the place, Barolo, but not the grape, Nebbiolo. This is typical of many European wines and indicates the emphasis on place and how different places provide distinct experiences of wine flavors, aromas, and textures.
Well, there you have it, tender braised lamb shank with polenta and a delicious, mature Barolo to share with friends and loved ones during the promise of Spring. With everything that is happening in the world, the simple pleasure of gathering around the kitchen table to share food and wine helps us stay grateful for the lives we live and in touch with what is really important.
That’s our post for today. We hope it was interesting to you. We’d love to hear your comments about your own traditional Easter dinner experiences and foods that bring back memories. In the meantime, keep checking back for more wine and food adventures at Cépage et Cuisine.
Cheers,
Mary♥Brian
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