Braised Lamb with Onions, Olives, and Orange Rind

You will be seeing this paired with a wine from Oregon for the October Wine Pairing Weekend event coming up this weekend.

I tried this process with lamb steaks and lamb shanks...just to test it out. Both versions were delicious but the steaks were the favorite!

Ingredients

serves 6

• 2 to 2-1/2 pounds bone-in lamb steaks

• freshly ground salt and pepper

• 1 organic onion, peeled and thinly sliced

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 1 cup beef stock

• 1/2 cup red wine

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

• 1 cup small, whole shiitake mushrooms, sliced if using larger mushrooms

• 1 cup pitted castelvetrano olives

• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

• cooked polenta for serving

• thinly sliced orange rind for garnish (I tied mine into knots)

Procedure

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Season lamb steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven, melt 1 Tablespoon butter in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions and cook until just translucent. Add the steaks to the pan. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Pour in the stock, red wine, and orange juice. Bring liquid to a boil. Cover the pot and place it in the oven to braise for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Remove the pot from the oven, scatter in the mushrooms, olives, and fresh herbs. Cover and return the pot to the oven for another hour.

During the final hour, prepare your polenta. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

To serve, ladle cooked polenta into a bowl or onto an individual plate. Place the meat on top of the polenta and spoon some of the mushrooms and olives over the top. Garnish with an orange rind twist. Serve immediately.

You will see this paired with the 2015 Maysara Cyrus Pinot Noir from McMinnville, Willamette Valley, Oregon. Stay tuned!