Braised Kid Shanks with Chickpeas and Chorizo

Years of cheffing in ‘gastropubs’ means I’ve cooked thousands of shanks, but always lamb. Kid shanks don’t have that uber-fattiness that characterises lamb and so are, in my opinion, superior.

You can blend some of the chickpeas at the end of cooking to thicken this dish (chickpea cooking liquid makes a great veg stock). Shredded, boiled or sautéed cabbage or kale can be a nice addition. Or you can omit the chorizo and chickpeas from this dish and serve it with a simple side like mashed potato.

 

Serves 4
for the chickpeas

150g/scant 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked overnight (or use 2 x 400g/14oz cans, drained and rinsed)

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

½ onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 bay leaf

for the shanks

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 kid shanks

3 cooking chorizos, cut into rounds

1 onion, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 carrot, roughly chopped

3 celery sticks, roughly chopped

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

100ml/scant ½ cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

250ml/1 cup chicken or kid stock (or water is fine)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

small bunch of flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve (optional)

Drain the soaked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), if using dried. Place in a saucepan and cover with 3 times the volume of water. Add the celery, onion, carrot, garlic and bay and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum and simmer for about 1–1½ hours or until completely tender, then drain.

Heat the oil in a heavy, flameproof casserole, season the shanks and brown on all sides, then remove to a plate. Add the chorizo to the casserole and cook for 5 minutes until the oil runs out and the rounds begin to crisp up. Remove a quarter of the chorizo and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery to the casserole and cook until softened and fragrant, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to thicken, then add the wine and bay leaf and stir to deglaze and reduce by half.

Place the shanks back on top of the vegetable mixture, pour the stock over the top and bring to a light simmer. Turn the heat to low, cover and braise for about 1½ hours, or until the shanks are completely tender and pulling away from the bone.

Stir in the drained cooked chickpeas and warm through, then add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and leave to rest, covered, for at least 10 minutes. Reheat the reserved chorizo and spoon over the top with the parsley, if using, to serve.