Lamb Braised with Tomato

Jaclyn and I love cooking with cast iron. They're versatile enough that you can easily shift from stove-top cooking to the oven without having to worry about anything melting or breaking. They're also great for roasting or braising. The only down side is the clean-up, but that can easily be bypassed by getting something coated in enamel (they can be a little more expensive, but if you catch one on sale, it's worth it). Anyway, I made this for dinner tonight and the meat just fell off the bone.

• Olive oil (or cooking spray)
• 4-6 Lamb Shanks or Chops (something with a bone in it)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup red wine or substitute (I use chicken broth)
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian style diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional; I forgot to add it and it still tasted great).

Heat dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with oil or cooking spray. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to pan and cook 4 mins each side or until browned. Remove lamb and add garlic, sauteing for 15-30 sec. Add wine (or broth) and cook for 2 mins, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in tomatoes and cook for 2 mins. Return lamb to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Turn lamb over and simmer 1 hour or until meat is done and very tender.

Remove lamb. Skim fat from surface of the sauce*. Bring to a boil for 10 mins or until thick. Return lamb to pan and cook 4 mins or until lamb is heated. Stir in parsley.

*To make the fat easier to remove, skim as much off of the top as you can into a bowl; don't worry if you get more than just the fat. Once you've gotten as much of the fat as you can, mix in a little bit of cold water in the bowl. This will make the fat congeal and make it much easier to remove. After the fat is removed, return the tomato mixture to the Dutch oven.