Oven-Braised Lamb Shank Ghormeh Sabzi

Method

1. Rinse the dried kidney beans, cover with at least three times their volume of cold water and soak overnight, for at least 12 hours. Drain and rinse again.

   Add in this stepDried red kidney beans 60 g

2. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season all over with half the salt and the pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy ovenproof 24 cm pot (a cast-iron casserole) over medium-high heat and brown the shanks for 10 min, turning every 2 minutes, until deep brown on all sides. If they don't fit with space between them, brown them in two rounds. Lift onto a plate.

   Add in this stepLamb shanks (bone-in, about 350–400 g each) 2Salt 0.6 tspBlack pepper 2 pinchVegetable oil 1½ tbsp

   medium-high heat

3. Lower the heat to medium heat. Add the sliced onion to the fat and cook for 9 min, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom, until golden. Add the crushed garlic and the turmeric and stir for 1 minute.

   Add in this stepOnion 1½Garlic cloves 2Ground turmeric 1 tsp

   medium heat

4. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Return the shanks and their juices to the pot and add the soaked beans, the water and the dried limes, pierced a few times. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat and boil hard for 10 min: kidney beans must boil vigorously for at least 10 minutes to be safe. Cover and transfer to the oven (oven) for 1 h 30 min.

   Add in this stepWater 800 mlDried limes (limoo omani) 2

   high heat→oven

5. Meanwhile, wash and thoroughly dry the leek greens, parsley and cilantro, then chop finely. Melt the ghee in a wide 26 cm pan over medium-low heat. Fry the leek greens first for 5 min, then add the parsley and cilantro and fry for 17 min more, stirring often, until very dark green, almost black at the edges, and deeply fragrant. Stir in the fenugreek leaves for the final minute.

   Add in this stepGhee (clarified butter) 3 tbspLeek greens (or green parts of spring onions) 75 gFlat-leaf parsley (leaves and tender stems) 100 gCilantro (leaves and tender stems) 50 gDried fenugreek leaves 1 tbsp

   medium-low heat

6. Take the pot out, stir in the fried herbs, cover and return it to the 160 °C oven (oven) for 1 h 5 min, until the meat pulls away from the bone easily and the beans are creamy all the way through.

   oven

7. Set the pot on the stove over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 min to thicken, until a glossy green sheen of oil rises. Taste, add the remaining salt, then let it rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Serve one shank per person with saffron or plain basmati rice.

   Add in this stepSalt 0.6 tsp

   low heat