yabba-dabba-doo

We completely forgot that we had made plans (in December) for some friends to come over for dinner on Saturday. To ease the stress, we opted for something easy, like a stew. Lamb shanks with dried figs and apricots braised in red wine and beef stock was perfect for that cold, winter evening. We served it with couscous and harissa. To nosh on while the lamb shank finished cooking, we opted for pita chips with eggplant dip. We went Mediterranean all the way. For dessert, we had chicory salad in a balsamic dressing. When our friends V&S got here and heard what we were serving, S said, "We're going to be like the Flintstones tonight."

empty bottles, 010707

Lamb Shanks our way

Marinate the lamb shanks in red wine for a couple of hours. Drain and reserve the wine marinade. Dredge lamb shanks in flour and brown in olive oil. Remove to a plate. Saute finely diced onions, celery and carrots in olive oil until translucent. Add about a cup of sweet vermouth , reduce until thickened. Add the lamb, reserved red wine and enough beef stock to cover the meat. Toss in some rosemary sprigs. Simmer, stirring occasionally. After about an hour add some tomato paste and half of the dried figs and apricots. Season with salt and pepper. When meat is completely tender (about 2 1/2 hours) add the rest of the dried figs and apricots. Check for seasoning. Serve over couscous with slivered almonds.