Perfect Pair: Braised Lamb Shank with Vermont Goat Cheese Polenta and Thyme Jus

Last year we filmed Bistro Cooking with Chef Olivier from ICI Urban Bistro. This lamb dish is perfect for the winter months. 

The Dish:  Braised Lamb Shank with Vermont Goat Cheese Polenta and Thyme Jus

 
The Recipe:

From Capital Cooking's Bistro Cooking episode with Chef Olivier Perret of ICI Urban Bistro

Ingredients for (2 people)
2 lamb shank.
2 liters of veal stock
1 carrot diced
1 onion cut in 4
1 celery stick diced
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaves)
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
1 cup of red wine
1 lemon sliced
1 cup of corn polenta
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/ 2 cup of heavy cream
4 oz of Vermont goat cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
 

Method

 
Season lamb with salt and pepper and sear the lamb shank on both sides with grape seed oil until browned.

 
Remove from pan, replace with new oil. Add mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery and bouquet garni), sweat and caramelize vegetables. Add tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, deglaze with red wine, reduce by half, add the shank and the lemon, cover with veal stock cook for 2 hours at 330 degrees (Cover with aluminum foil).

In a pot, heat the chicken stock with the heavy cream, add the polenta, and whip it for 5 minutes (must be creamy) Add the goat cheese crumbled and salt and pepper to taste.  When the lamb shank is cooked, strain the sauce in a pot. Reduce the sauce (by half) and mix with olive oil and fresh thyme chopped.

Plating

On the plate, put the goat cheese polenta, then the lamb shank and the thyme sauce on the top. You can add more goat cheese on the plate and some fresh thyme as a garnish

The Pairing:

 
Domaine Fond Croze Cuvee Romanaise:  50% Grenache, 50% Syrah, the Syrah is aged in oak.  Domaine Fond Croze is an independent producer in St. Roman de Malegarde.  The wine just got written up in the Post today, here’s what they said:  “This is a terrific 50-50 blend of grenache and syrah, with rich dark-fruit flavors, earthy tannins, and impressive length.”  It’s a medium to full-bodied wine, great with beef and lamb.

Domaine de Montvac Gigondas:  70% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre.  Gigondas is a village that’s renowned for its earthy wines, flavors of leather and tobacco with an undertone of ripe fruit.  The wine is complex and rich, a great pairing with lamb, mushrooms, eggplant, wild game.  The winemaker, Cecile Dusserre, is a former ballet dancer who came back to the village to take over the winery.  She’s the third-generation female landowner and winemaker, and since she has three daughters and no sons, there will likely be a fourth.   

Photos by Emily Clack