Turn Up The Heat - Day 16.

I have been so inspired lately on my trips to the grocerette on Main Street.  Catering to the largely Latin local community, they carry a host of delicious looking foods that I have no idea how to cook or, in some cases, have never heard of.  Colorful foods.  Rich-smelling foods.  And an entire wall of chili peppers, some I know, some I don't.  I don't cook much with whole dried chilies other than readily available chipotles, because it seems that whenever I have a recipe that I want to try, I either can't find the pepper or they're $11 for a bag of 3 Whole Foods.  That's too rich even for my foodie blood.  It was a cold morning and I woke up wanting to make something for dinner that would warm the house, some spicy braise of something meaty.  That's how the morning menu planning usually begins - I feel like making something that will make me feel something and smell like something and use something with a side of something and something and I want to cook it in/on something.  I fill in the blanks for the somethings and a dinner plan was born.  In this case, with a damp chill clinging persistently to the day and the image of that wall of enticing dried chilies in my head, the menu mad-lib ended up looking like this: I feel like making something that will make me feel warm and smell like meat and spice and use up some tomatoes with a side of white rice and salad and I want to braise it in my cheerfully green Dutch oven.
Bittman gave me the recipe and the grocerette practically gave me the chilies at $2 for a big bag of 12.

Lamb Shanks with Pasilla Chili Sauce
by Mark Bittman 


1 - tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 - lamb shanks, about 1 pound each
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 - cups sliced onion
2 - cups chopped tomato (drained canned is fine)
2 - cloves garlic + 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 - tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 - cup chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
1 - teaspoon ground cumin

1. Soak 3 to 5 pasilla or other mild dried red chilies in hot water to cover until soft, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, put the oil in a large pot with a lid or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  When hot add the shanks and brown on all sides, sprinkling with salt and pepper as they cook.  Remove the lamb and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat.  Add the onion and 1 cup of the tomato and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and onions are golden, about 10 minutes.  Transfer the onion mixture to a food processor.  Drain the chilies, reserving the soaking liquid, and tear them into pieces while removing their stems and seeds.  Add the chilies to the processor along with 2 cloves garlic and puree, adding the chili liquid as necessary to get a smooth paste.
2. Add the minced garlic and marjoram to the Dutch oven and cook for a minute, then add the stock,  the chili puree, and remaining cup chopped tomato.  Sprinkle in salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon ground cumin.  Return the lamb shanks to the pan, turn them once or twice, cover, and turn the heat to low.
3. Cook for 30 minutes and turn the shanks.  Continue to cook for at least another hour, turning occasionally, until the shanks are very tender (a toothpick inserted into them will meet little resistance) and the meat is nearly falling from the bone.