coffee infused braised lamb shanks and beans

Lamb

Coffee-Infused Braised Lamb Shanks and Beans

Beans and beans; what a clever take on the theme. Coffee beans and broad beans and the interesting combination of ingredients made it a must try for me. I used good quality white limas ( Rancho Gordo) for this recipe but you could use any good broad bean (Christmas Limas are one of my favorites!). The lamb was flavorful and meltingly tender and the beans well-seasoned and creamy without being complete mush. Cooking it a day ahead gives all of those ingredients a chance to make friends and then you have the pleasure of an already made dish to serve. The lemon and parsley add a lovely brightness to the deep earthiness of this great cold weather dish!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves
2 sprigs rosemary
2 tablespoons finely ground dark coffee beans
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 lamb shanks
1 red onion
2 to 3 celery stalks
8 pitted dates
12 sun-dried tomato halves (not in oil)
Olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground corinader
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups dried Arikara or white navy beans
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsely

Directions

Prepare the coffee spice rub for the lamb: Heat a small skillet and toast the cumin seeds for a minute or so until fragrant, and transfer to a mortar. Put the garlic cloves in the skillet and toast for several minutes, turning, until they develop some brown spots and start to soften. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems, chop, and add to the mortar. Add the ground coffee, red pepper flakes, coarse sea salt, and peeled garlic cloves and smash well until the cumin seeds are crushed and you’ve created a smooth paste. You could also use a spice grinder or small food processor to prepare the rub. Coat the lamb shanks with the paste and let sit for a few minutes to infuse the flavors while you prep the other ingredients.
Soak the sun dried tomatoes in 2 cups boiling water for 15 minutes. Dice the onions and celery. Dice the dates and the sun-dried tomatoes, reserving the tomato-flavored water. Heat the oven to 325° F.
Heat a large Dutch oven or other ovenproof pan and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Over medium low heat, brown the lamb shanks on all sides, taking your time so that they have a chance to brown. Remove to a plate.
Add another splash of olive oil if necessary, and put the onions and celery into the pot. Cook, stirring, until they are glassy. Add the ground cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add the diced dates and sundried tomatoes and cook another minute. Add the red wine and cook another minute. Add the rinsed beans, the reserved tomato-flavored water and three additional cups of boiling water. Nestle the lamb shanks into the beans, pouring in any juices that accumulated and add the star anise and cinnamon stick. Salt and add more boiling water if necessary to ensure that the beans are covered by 1 inch of liquid.
Heat the beans and lamb shanks on the stovetop until the liquid is simmering and then cover the pot and transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for about three hours, turning the lamb shanks occasionally and adding a little water if necessary, until the beans are tender and the lamb meat is falling off the bones. Toward the end of the cooking period, you could remove the pot lid to allow more of the liquid to cook off. The dish will be quite rich from the lamb fat and benefits from degreasing. You may want to cook this a day ahead, refrigerate it overnight, and then remove the hardened fat from the surface, and the reheat. Alternatively, remove pools of liquid fat from the surface with a spoon.
Serve a generous portion of beans topped with a whole or half lamb shank. To prepare the garnish, chop together orange zest and parsley leaves and sprinkle over the lamb before serving.

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coffee infused braised lamb shanks and beans