Best 7 Braised Lamb With Spinach Recipes

EASY BRAISED LAMB SHANKS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, add all the spice mix ingredients and mix to combine.
• Pat the lamb shanks dry and season with the spice mix on all sides.
• In a large Dutch oven pot like this one, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the lamb shanks on all sides (about 8 mins or so). Transfer the lamb shanks to a large tray or bowl for now. Carefully dispose of extra fat in a separate heat-safe bowl, and return the pot to heat.
• Now add the onions, celery, carrots and potatoes. Saute for 5-7 minutes on medium-high, or until the vegetables gain some color. Add red wine, scrape the pot of brown bits. Cook briefly so that the wine reduces a bit.
• Add the broth, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, thyme, and rosemary. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Return lamb shanks back to the pot; press down to submerge. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn heat off.
• Cover the pot and transfer to the 350 degrees F-heated oven. Cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours (It's a good idea to check periodically through cooking just in case you need to add a little more liquid. When the shanks finish cooking, the liquid will have reduced to about 1/3 of what it was when you started.)
• While the lamb shanks are cooking, prepare rice according to this recipe, or prepare 2-3 cups of orzo pasta according to package instructions.
• Serve the lamb shanks hot with a little of the veggies and braising sauce on top of rice or orzo pasta. You might also like to prepare a side salad like this 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad or Fattoush. Enjoy!

BRAISED SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add 1/3 of the spinach and saute until it begins to wilt, about 1 to 2 minutes. Continue adding the spinach 1 handful at a time, sauteing just until it begins to wilt before adding more. Add the soy sauce and crushed red pepper. Saute over high heat until spinach wilts. Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and serve.

LAMB WITH HERB PASTE AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425º. Remove as much of the surface fat as is practical from the lamb. Combine the parsley, dill, oil, anchovies and garlic in a food processor (if you're not using the anchovies, add some salt). Purée, adding a little water if necessary. Rub the lamb with this mixture.
• Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan with about 1/2 cup of water. Roast for 30 minutes, then check; if the lamb threatens to burn, turn the heat down to 350º; otherwise leave it at 425º. If the bottom dries out (the rendering lamb fat should keep it moist), add a little more water. After about 1 hour (total), check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. When it reaches 130 for medium rare (125 for very rare) in its thickest part (check it in several places), it's done. Total cooking time will be less than 1 1/2 hours. Remove and let it rest.
• Pour off and reserve all but 2 tablespoons of the fat and put the pan over a burner (or two, if it fits better). Toast the bread crumbs over low heat, stirring and seasoning with salt and pepper until they're lightly browned. Remove; add another couple of tablespoons of the fat to the pan. Add the pine nuts, raisins and spinach and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the spinach is very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Carve the lamb and serve it on a bed of spinach, sprinkled with the bread crumbs.

BRAISED-LAMB SHANK SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Prepare lamb: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and brown them in batches, transferring each to a plate when browned. Add onions and herb sprigs and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and soft, about 10 minutes. Return the shanks to the Dutch oven with the wine, broth, and water and bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to the oven, and braise until fork tender, about 2 hours. Transfer shanks to a plate. Discard herb sprigs. Pour cooking liquid (including onions) into a large glass measure.
• Prepare potatoes and boil carrots while lamb roasts: Pierce each potato once with a fork and bake on rack in lower third of oven until cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool potatoes 10 minutes, then halve lengthwise and scoop out flesh. Force warm potatoes through ricer into a bowl. Stir in milk, and salt, pepper, to taste.
• Cook carrots in boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Rinse under cold running water to stop cooking.
• Make gravy: Skim fat from cooking liquid (you'll have about 2 1/2 cups broth). Put the cooking liquid in a saucepan and bring to boil. Knead the flour and softened butter into a paste and whisk it into the liquid. Return the gravy to a boil to thicken and simmer, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Cut lamb meat from bones, then tear meat into bite-size pieces. Stir meat into gravy and set aside.
• Assemble and bake pie: Spoon lamb-shank mixture into a 12 by 3-inch oval gratin dish or a 2 1/2 to 3-quart shallow baking dish, spreading evenly. Scatter carrots over lamb, then top with creamed spinach, spreading evenly. Top spinach with mashed potatoes, spreading evenly to edges of dish to cover filling completely. Make swirl patterns on surface of potatoes with back of spoon, then drizzle with the melted butter.
• Put baking dish in a foil-lined shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan to catch drips and bake until top is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour.
• Cook spinach according to package directions. Whisk in Parmesan, salt, nutmeg, and pepper, to taste.

BRAISED LAMB WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• In a blender purée the garlic and the gingerroot with 1/3 cup water. In a heavy kettle heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it brown the lamb, patted dry, in batches, transferring it as it is browned with tongs to a bowl. To the skillet add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, heat it until it is hot but not smoking, and in it fry the cinnamon stick, the cloves, and the bay leaf, stirring, for 30 seconds, or until the cloves are puffed slightly. Add the onions and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden. Add the garlic purée and cook the mixture, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the liquid is evaporated. Add the cumin, the coriander, and the cayenne and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and the yogurt, simmer the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute, and add the lamb, the salt, and 1 cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil and braise it, covered, in a preheated 350°F. oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the lamb is tender. The lamb mixture may be prepared up to this point 2 days in advance. Let the lamb cool, uncovered, and chill it, covered. Reheat the lamb mixture.
• In a large saucepan bring 1 inch water to a boil, add the spinach, and steam it, covered, for 2 minutes, or until it is wilted. Drain the spinach in a colander.
• Spoon off any excess fat from the lamb mixture and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Distribute the spinach over the stew and stir it in gently. Transfer the stew to a heated serving dish and sprinkle it with the pine nuts.

SPICED BRAISED LAMB WITH CARROTS AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat lamb dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb in 5 batches, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch, adding more oil as needed. Transfer as browned to an ovenproof 6- to 7-quart wide heavy pot.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion and celery in remaining fat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and deglaze skillet by boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute, then pour mixture over lamb in pot.
• Pour juice from can of tomatoes into stew, then coarsely chop tomatoes and add to stew along with remaining cup water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil (liquid should almost cover meat).
• Cover pot and braise lamb in middle of oven 1 1/2 hours. Stir in carrots and continue to braise until carrots and lamb are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer pot to top of stove and, working over moderately high heat, stir in spinach by handfuls to soften it. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until spinach is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

FRENCH ONION-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH BARLEY AND GREENS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Lightly season lamb with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat the oil in a 7- to 8-quart Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Add the lamb shanks and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the lamb to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate, and set aside.
• Add the onions, leeks and carrots to the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium. Season lightly with salt and cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven with a wooden spoon, until the onions and leeks are as caramelized as you'd like, about 20 minutes for lightly caramelized onions that give the stew a more savory flavor, or 45 minutes or longer for deeply caramelized onions that will make the stew sweeter. If browned bits start building up on the bottom of the pot, add water a tablespoon at a time, scraping them up and reincorporating them before continuing.
• When the onions are ready, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and stir until it evenly coats all of the vegetables. Add the wine, scrape the bottom and sides of the pot, and cook until the wine is reduced by at least half, a minute or two. Add the chicken stock and the rosemary. (Tie the rosemary into a bundle with kitchen twine if you want to make it easier on yourself later.)
• Return the lamb shanks to the pot. Increase heat to high, bring the pot to a simmer, and transfer to the oven. Place a lid on top, leaving it cracked by an inch or so. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, then remove from oven. Flip the lamb, and stir the barley and spinach into the broth, making sure it's all submerged. Return to the oven, cover with the lid cracked, and continue cooking until a metal skewer inserted into the lamb meets very little resistance, the meat falls off the bone with a little tug, and the barley is fully cooked but still chewy, 30 to 45 minutes longer.
• Transfer the pot to the stovetop, remove and discard the rosemary, and adjust the consistency to a saucy, stewlike mixture by simmering to thicken, or thin it out by adding water. Stirring as you go to prevent the bottom from sticking. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.