Lamb Shanks with Lentils

Name: Lamb Shanks with Lentils
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 pound dried lentils, rinsed and picked over; 2 medium carrots, chopped; 1 onion, chopped; 4 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 2 bay leaves; 1 bottle dry red wine; 4 lamb shanks; Salt and black pepper to taste

December 14, 2011

A typical dish from the southern French countryside. Lentils are combined with lamb shanks, red wine, and not much else, and they cook for a couple of hours. While becoming beyond tender, the lentils also absorb the flavors of the lamb, the wine, and the aromatics sprinkled among them. The result is a one-pot meal—a salad or a little bread, or both, would round things out nicely—that takes some time but little work or attention. Other cuts of meat you can use here: short ribs.

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