What I had for dinner:

Lamb Shank and Couscous

14 Nov 1994 23:14:06 -0500

I wanted to make a pot roast, but of course there was no roast left. I was left with the choice between pork roast and lamb. Pork roast will figure later in a Frankfurt-style sauerkraut, when it gets really cold, so lamb shank it was.

A lamb shank was browned on all sides over fairly high heat, then 2 cups of water were added, together with 1 large carrot, 1 parsnip, 1 stalk of celery, 4 habanero peppers (sliced but not seeded), the rind of half a lemon, a small can of stewed tomatoes, the leaves from a small bunch of coriander, and 4 dried apricots. It was cooked for 30 min in a pressure cooker (1 1/2 - 2 hrs in a pot).

Then, the liquid was strained and set aside in a deep bowl. The meat was trimmed and returned to the pot, together with 1 crushed clove of garlic and a large pinch of saffron. Some of the vegetables (a piece of carrot and parsnip, the tomatoes, the apricots, some peppers) were mashed and strained through a sieve, and added to the meat. Finally, the liquid was defatted thoroughly (with a ladle), and added to the pot and reheated.

This was served with couscous prepared the easy way, from boiling water rather than steamed, since it was getting late.

To drink, a bottle of that excellent winter offering from the Brooklyn Brewery, the Black Chocolate Stout. A great beer indeed, with strong roasted malts that will happily marry with sweet desserts as well as smoky barbecues. There are limited quantities, so get it while you can! And do not drink it too cold, it kills the aroma. A comfortable 50 F is the best place to start.