We’re back! And we can’t believe it is already March, with
Easter just a few short weeks away. This Easter, Carine is going to be heading
to the wonderful island of Sicily so it was only right that this month’s recipe
reflected that, albeit with a bit of a twist.
Sicilians take Easter very seriously. Not only is it a
solemn and ritual-laden time, but it is also the beginning of Spring which
means lots of lovely things to eat after the long, hard winter. In an area
which has been invaded and inhabited by a great many peoples, Easter is a time
when the leftovers of these cultures intersect, pagan rituals meeting Catholic
processions.
And the star of this week’s dish – Lamb – is common to both!
The pagans would sacrifice a lamb to welcome the Spring, and before the flight
from Egypt, Moses advised Jewish families also to sacrifice a lamb, smearing
the blood over their doors and eating the meat with unleavened bread. But, as
well as being symbolic, it is delicious and never more so than in this month’s
mouth-watering dish – lamb shank osso bucco.
Although traditionally a Milanese dish made with veal shanks,
Osso Bucco has become a favourite dish the world over and, like most of our
favourite dishes, has been reinvented and reimagined many, many times. In this
recipe we are substituting the veal with Easter lamb and serving it with
delicious baked aubergines – so let’s get started!
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
4 Lamb shanks
sea salt and pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 of Small glass of white balsamic vinegar
1 glass white vine
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
Sunflower oil
1 vegetable stock cube.
For the soffrito
1 large Carrot
1 Celery Stalk
3 small onions
3 Garlic cloves
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Bay leaves
100ml Olive oil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan)/ Gas Mark4.
- Peel the carrot, onions, and garlic and finely chop, along with the celery, for your soffrito
- Add these to an ovenproof casserole dish along with the bay leaves, lemon zest, and olive oil.
- Pop this on the hob and fry for 20-30 minutes on a low to medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes or so to make sure it does not burn or stick
- Season both sides of your lamb shank with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper then lightly coat them in all-purpose, plain flour.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and, once hot, brown your lamb shanks all together until they reach a deep brown colour.
- Once all shanks are brown on both sides, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the tomato purée to your soffrito and cook for a further 10 minutes over a low-to medium heat.
- Add the vinegar, white wine, and stock cube and let it reduce for 5 minutes on a high heat.
- Add your shanks to the pan, along with chopped rosemary, sea salt and pepper to taste and put the casserole dish, uncovered, into the oven for at least 2-3 hours.
- Be sure to check on your dish every 30-45 minutes, if it begins to run out of juice, add half a cup of water.
Once cooked, your Osso Bucco sauce should look a bit dry but
the meat will be meltingly tender.
Baked Aubergines
Ingredients
3 aubergines
50g Parmesan
Handful flat-leaf parsley
1 large clove garlic
2 slices of wholemeal bread
100 ml Olive oil
1 medium glass water
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
- Start by mixing the bread, parmesan, garlic and parsley in your food processor until you reach a crumbly texture, then set aside.
- Slice your aubergines into thick rounds.
- Then it is simply a case of layering the two up – one layer of aubergine, then olive oil, salt and pepper, then a sprinkling of the breadcrumbs.
- Repeat until you run out of aubergine.
- Add the water and top up with the remaining breadcrumb mix, keeping back just a little as a garnish.
- Bake for 30-45 min at 180C (Fan) or until cooked.
Serve with your Osso Bucco, the last sprinkle of your breadcrumbs
and a dash of good finishing olive oil.
And speaking of good olive oil – that will be the tasty
theme of Matango’s next supper club! Come try some of the finest, most fragrant
olive oil you will ever taste and have a culinary trip to the Mediterranean,
without ever leaving London. Tickets are available here. Keep your eyes out
for more details soon!
What will you be
having for Easter lunch? Get in touch on Twitter and let us know!
