PRESSURE-COOKED LAMB SHANKS: GOURMET MAG RAVES

Photo courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

I’ve been checking out some U-Tube clips on pressure cooking and was DEEElighted to find this one of Gourmet test-kitchen cook Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez preparing Lamb Shanks with White Beans in the pressure cooker.

When Gourmet’s editor Ruth Reichl tastes the finished dish, she exclaims how delicious it is.  Ruth also admits to being terrified of using a pressure cooker.  Dear Ruth:  Please come over for a pressure-cooked dinner and all of your fears will be vanquished.

All of the tasters waxed eloquent about the lamb stew. It’s so sad that Gourmet is no longer being published, but with this clip another part of its great legacy lives on!

Here is the actual recipe, which I found on Epicurious.com.  The U-Tube clip is below.

Lamb Shanks with White Beans

Far from being a culinary museum piece, the pressure cooker deserves a place in the 21st-century kitchen. One reason: You can make this hearty Italian meal of incredibly tender lamb with vegetables and saucy beans in about an hour.

A few tips from Lorna before you begin:

**You can skip browning the lamb, if you want to save time.  Browning enhances taste, but I’m not convinced that the time it takes is a worthwhile trade-off.  I often just brush meat lightly with soy sauce and skip the browning.

**Add the tomatoes last and don’t stir after adding them. This will prevent scorching and encourage the beans to cook more evenly.

**Add boiling water; the pressure will come up faster.

**Drain the sauce and pass the liquid through a fat separator, or skim off surface fat before serving.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Active time: 20 min

Total time: 1 hr

• 2 lamb shanks (2 pounds total)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (14-ounces) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 cup dried navy beans, picked over
• 3 1/2 cups water
• Garnish: chopped flat-leaf parsley; extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

• Equipment: a 6-to 8-quart pressure cooker

Pat lamb shanks dry and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then brown shanks well, 1 at a time, transferring to a plate.

Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to pressure cooker and sauté until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and rosemary and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beans, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Return lamb shanks to pressure cooker and bring to a boil. Seal lid and cook at high pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions, 30 minutes. Put pressure cooker in sink (do not remove lid) and run cold water over lid until pressure goes down completely. Remove lid and discard rosemary, then transfer shanks to a cutting board and coarsely shred meat.

Spoon bean and vegetable mixture into large shallow bowls, then top with lamb and sauce.

Advertisement