Foodie Friday - Monotheism and Its Disconents Edition

Since Pesach and Easter coincide I felt it best to prepare some dirty Muzlin food as a sort of boo-yah to the mighty Ja. So:

Lamb shank tagine with dried fruit and spice

The lamb shank, which is cut from the shoulder of the arm, is a dense, difficult cut covered in a thin layer of silvery fell (connective tissue)--the perfect cut for very, very slow cooking. As is almost always the case with a slow roast or braise, a bone-in cut is best: the bone adds more and richer flavors to the dish. I cook mine in a large ceramic tagine; if you don't have one, a good Dutch oven (preferably enameled) works almost as well. Just remember to leave the lid of the Dutch oven slightly cracked to mimic the vent at the top of a tagine. The following recipe serves eight or so.

4 bone-in lamb shanks
1 medium yellow onion, grated
2 medium shallots, grated
8 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
3 whole cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
1 teaspoon allspice berries, ground
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 pinch saffron strands
dry white wine
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/4 cup honey
extra virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper
fine sea salt

The night prior to cooking, remove any large bits of fat from the exterior of the lamb and cut away the thicker bits of fell. No need to be too thorough about this, though. Lightly salt and pepper the meat, rub generously with olive oil, and marinate overnight.

You will need eight hours to cook this dish. The day of, preheat the oven to 215. Take out the lamb and let it come to room temperature. Sprinkle the ground spices (turmeric, allspice, cumin) all over the meat. Heat a few cups of wine until just below boiling, add saffron, remove from heat and let steep for 15-20 minutes. Put the onion, shallot, garlic, and whole cinnamon in the base of the tagine. Pour in the wine and saffron. Place the lamb on top, bone ends facing up. Place in the oven and cook for seven hours. Go do something useful.

When you return, remove the tagine from the oven. Raise the oven temperature to 300 while you perform the following steps. Take the lamb out of the vessel and remove the meat from the bone. It should be very tender, almost falling off on its own. Remove any marrow you can get from the bone as well (there won't be much, but even a bit adds flavor). Remove the cinnamon sticks from the pot and discard. Save the bones for stock or some such. Return the meat to the vessel, stir in the fruit, almonds, honey, a little extra wine (it should not fully submerge the ingredients, but only maintain moisture to stew), and a generous pinch or two of additional salt. Cover again and return to the oven for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, uncover, turn your broiler on high, and blast brown for 5-10 minutes.

Remove and let stand for 10 minutes, then serve over a simple couscous or rice.