Undoubtedly, slow and steady truly does win the race. This is a nourishing soup with layers of fresh, meritorious flavors. Think of adding rice, pasta, or assembling a salad or sandwich to go with it. This soup tastes marvelous with a dollop of goat cheese and a buttery, toasty hunk of French baguette. The result is a reflection of time, patience, and quality ingredients in which herbaceous notes, citrus, and hints of sweetness meld together in a savory, drinkable brine.
By Sophia Feliciano
Photos By Eric Fallecker
Last week I personified a reckless rogue with a debit card. To explain further, I now own a completely useless and unnecessary blinged out eye mask which I wore for a grand total of three hours at a Halloween masquerade party. Here’s to hoping that I might wear this accessory again some day. Perhaps I will be more eccentric than usual on my next birthday. Either way, I felt genuinely ashamed and convicted in the wake of this whimsical impulse purchase. I told myself, “Sophia, you need to be punished!” I reproached myself with a week long sentence of soup consumption. It’s holiday time and I need to save my funds being that my parents expect somewhat decent gifts from me now that I have a stable big girl job. Thus I responded to this self inflicted challenge with zeal and determination. Yes, I will persist with this soup until the very last drop and it shall prove delectable.
Last Monday I was scheduled to work overnight at one of my store accounts which allotted some day time for a food run. Just to be clear, elves are not the culprits who change your local grocery store layout when you’re away; that is what sales reps and merchandisers are for! Yet I digress in the telling of this anecdote; due to my topsy turvy schedule, I was able to pay the farmer’s market a visit under one condition. I could spend no more than ten dollars. I can tell you now friends that I did not succeed. I spent $10.50, but close enough. I was able to procure a beautiful and exotic Kabocha squash, carrots, onions, garlic, opal basil, and parsley. For nine dollars, I purchased a singular grass fed, organic lamb shank at my local Whole Foods. I spent another six on a bottle of modest red table wine for cooking. You always want to go with a modest and palatable wine; you might just consume the excess while cooking.
I combined the above ingredients with two apples I had on hand alongside dried lentils, oregano, and juniper berries. I confidently left the concoction to slow cook over night while I was away. I whistled while I worked as I imagined the elements getting along swimmingly in their succulent bath. Undoubtedly, slow and steady truly does win the race; for today, I tasted a nourishing soup with layers of fresh, meritorious flavors. This brew replenished and enlivened my inanimate being; I was a complete zombie before the spoon hit my lips. I now have over ten quarts of savory soup to imbibe over the course of a week. I can always add rice, pasta, or assemble a salad or sandwich to go with. This soup tastes marvelous with a dollop of goat cheese and a buttery, toasty hunk of French baguette.
The broth of this soup is unblemished in cultivation as the flavors are pure. The result is a reflection of time, patience, and quality ingredients in which herbaceous notes, citrus, and hints of sweetness meld together in a savory, drinkable brine.
Lentil Lamb shank soup with Kabocha squash, apples, and carrots.
- Yield: 40 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a Kabocha squash or 1 acorn squash
- 1 lamb shank
- 4 carrots (roughly chopped)
- 2 apples diced
- 2 onions diced
- 1 head of garlic ( roughly chopped)
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch purple basil
- 1 1/2 c red wine
- 1 tbs juniper berries
- 1 tbs dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons fine pink salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper.
- 6 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to 425 degrees.
- While oven is heating, salt your lamb shank and set aside.
- Cut Kabocha squash in half and scoop out insides. Drizzle the halves with olive oil and salt. Place the halves downward facing on to a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. When finished, scoop out the insides. You will only need one half of the squash.
- Heat two tablespoons of butter on a skillet, medium heat. ( I prefer my cast iron)
- Sear each side for 2-3 minutes or until well browned and remove from pan.
- Place lamb shank in the well of a 10 quart slow cooker.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a decent stir and allow mixture to slow cook for 8-10 hours.
- The lamb will fall of of the bone easily! Serve with crusty bread and a hunk of goat cheese for a satisfying meal.
- Category: Main, slow cooker
Yum! I will definitely make this. I need to break out of my cooking rut. I just made short ribs with Guiness in my slow cooker, along with organic carrots, parsnips, onion, fresh thyme and rosemarry. After 7 hours cooking I left the pot outside (it was 30 degrees) overnight and then skimmed off the sizable amount of fat on the top the following day. Instead of adding flour or corn starch to make a thicker gravy, I heated up the sauce and pureed it in my Cuisineart. Tossed all the bones, made some mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus and it was delicious. Perfect for this chilly fall/winter weather. Wish I’d made more.
Megan that sounds so wonderful!!! I love pureeing sauces for thickness also. I’ve also heard you can create creaminess by adding oats and emulsifying! And I love love beer and meat together! My next recipe will be a beef and leek pie. I braised a chuck roast in a dutch oven with pilsner! Thanks for the reply!