Buon appetito!
Braised Lamb Shanks with Homemade Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 4 Lamb Shanks (3.5/4 lbs –1.75/2kgs)
- 1 Onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Celery Stalks finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 2.5 cups Red Wine
- 24.5 oz Tomato Puree
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- A hand full of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Parmigiano Reggiano as needed
Pasta
- 1/2 cup Semolina Flour
- 2/3 cup 00 Flour
- 4 Eggs
Instructions
- Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook shanks until brown on all sides, about eight minutes. Add rosemary, carrots, onions, celery, and garlic to the pot and sauté over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add red wine on high heat and reduce by half. Add tomato puree and mix everything. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook in the oven at 325F for two plus hours, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
- Make the pasta dough. Mix the two flours, put them on a counter or working surface, and make a well. Break the eggs into the well with a fork, whisk them, and then gradually mix the egg with the flour until a ball is formed.
- Knead by hand. Flour the surface. Push the dough away from you with the palm of your hand, fold the dough over itself, and turn it counter-clockwise. Continue pushing, folding, and turning until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 15 to 20 minutes. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest for at least one hour.
- Roll out the dough. Starting in the middle, push away from you with a rolling pin, easing up on the pressure as you approach the edge. Dust with some flour if the dough sticks to the rolling pin. Continue rolling the dough into a sheet, turning occasionally, until you can see your fingers through the bottom.
- Cut the pappardelle. Dust the top of the sheet of dough with semolina flour and loosely roll it into a cylinder. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch-wide slices. Unwrap the noodles; dust the noodles with more semolina to prevent them from sticking and gently toss to separate. Place on a sheet pan and cover with a kitchen towel until ready to cook.
- Take the lamb out of the oven. Remove all the meat from the bone and keep the sauce warm while you cook the pasta.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pappardelle, one piece at a time so it doesn’t stick. Cook for four minutes, then transfer into the lamb sauce. Turn the heat on high and add a generous ladle of pasta water with a drizzle of olive oil. Toss the pasta around in the sauce and cook for a few minutes so the pasta can absorb this incredibly delicious sauce. Add some fresh parsley.
- Plate in pasta bowls and grate a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes
Braised meat is always a good idea.
Beef short ribs, pork shoulder, veal, or lamb shanks and what about some oxtails?
Braising is a technique that involves meat soaked in liquid and cooked for a long time at a low temperature.
Many cuisines use different types of liquids and flavoring. Stock is predominant in many different recipes, as well as the trilogy of vegetables that Italians call ‘soffritto’ (onions, carrots, and celery) with garlic. Asian dishes may use peppercorn, star anise, and cinnamon while Italian or French dishes will focus more on building flavor with fresh herbs, such as bay leaves, thyme, or rosemary.
This recipe is very Italian as the braising liquid is made from red wine and pureed tomatoes.
Not a fan of gamey meat? No worries for this one, the lamb flavor that someone may describe as strong surely mellows down when combined with wine and tomatoes.
In this recipe, the lamb shanks are tossed with pappardelle pasta, but it can also be served with mashed potatoes, soft polenta, or roasted potatoes.
