Lamb Shank Pies

One of the first proper meals I ever made was braised lamb shank. I remember how impressive it was that a tough sinewy meat could become so succulent and tender. It became my go-to dinner when I had guests over because of how easy it was to make. I haven’t made braised lamb in a very very long time and I recently re-discovered my love for this recipe! It’s a very straightforward dish to make and in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, I decided this time to transform my lamb shank recipe into a pie form, although you could simply serve the lamb after it’s finished braising and skip the pie part all together. You may be wondering: why leave the bone in the pie if all you eat is the meat. Well, aside from being just really damn cute, the bone marrow happens to be my favorite part of braised lamb shank– its intense and oily flavor is such a treat. Just suck the marrow like a straw and it comes right out– yum!!

LAMB SHANK PIES

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lamb shanks
• 4 large shallots, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 large carrots, cut into thick chunks
• 1 pound of shelled fresh English peas
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 cups of red wine
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves
• pre-made pie dough, thawed according to package instructions
• 1 egg, beaten
• sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, like vegetable or safflower oil

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Season the lamb shanks liberally with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large heavy bottom pot over high heat and sear the lamb shanks on all sides in the oil for several minutes until they are all browned. You may need to do this in batches. Set seared lamb shanks on a plate.
• Turn the heat down to medium and sauté the shallots and carrots for a coupe minutes until the shallots are softened. Add the garlic. Season the vegetables with a little bit more salt and pepper. Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
• Add the tomato paste and soy sauce and stir the sauce.
• Return the seared lamb shanks back into the pot and nestle them into the vegetables.
• Add the two cups of water until it just covers the shanks. You may need to add a little more or less. Add the rosemary leaves over the top.
• Cover the pot with foil and cover with the lid and cook in the oven for about 1.5-2 hours until the meat easily falls off the bones.
• Raise the heat to 400 degrees.
• Remove the lamb from the bones, leaving large chunks of meat in the pot (save the bones). Add the fresh peas into the pot and stir to distribute evenly. Ladel the stew between 4 bowls to the top. Place the bone back in the center of each bowl so it stands upright.
• Unroll the pie dough and cut out circles a little larger than the circumference of the bowl. Cut a small X in the center and drape the pie dough over the cup so the bone sticks through the X.
• Brush each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the tops are brown.

(images by HonestlyYUM)