Lamb Shank Stew with Root Vegetables

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 pounds of lamb shanks, each shank cut into a couple of pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 4 carrots, 2 coarsely chopped, 2 cut into 2-inch segments, and quartered lengthwise
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Two 1x3-inch strips of orange zest
• 1 medium rutabaga, roughly chopped
• 1 medium turnip, roughly sliced or chopped
• 2 parsnips, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Warm 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the lamb shanks with salt and pepper, then brown them thoroughly on every side, cooking in batches if the pot is crowded. Move the browned shanks onto a plate.
2. Put the unpeeled garlic cloves, celery, the chopped carrots, and onion into the same pot. Save the lengthwise-cut carrots for later. Cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the vegetables take on a golden color, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, raise the heat to high, and let it boil until the liquid thickens into a syrupy reduction, about 5 minutes.
4. Set the lamb shanks back in the pot, then add the stock and orange zest. Bring everything to a simmer. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and braise for 3 hours, turning the shanks occasionally, until the meat is tender enough to pull away from the bone.
5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the turnip, rutabaga, parsnips, and lengthwise-cut carrots in a large baking pan, then coat them with olive oil. Add salt and pepper, and roast for about an hour, until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir together the minced garlic, parsley, and lemon zest in a small bowl to make the gremolata. Set it aside.
7. Lift the shanks out of the pot and place them on a plate. Pour the sauce through a coarse strainer, pushing firmly on the cooked vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Throw away the pressed vegetable solids, then skim off the fat from the top of the sauce.
8. Pour the sauce back into the pan, season with salt and pepper, and bring it to a boil over moderately high heat. Pull the lamb meat off the bones. Add the lamb and roasted root vegetables to the sauce, and simmer only until everything is heated through.
9. Finish with the gremolata and serve.