What's Pressoir Cooking?
September 15, 2021
by Justine Puaud
Persia on a plate
Iranian cooking is heir to no less than two and a half thousand years of saffron and rosewater scented history. The foods of the courts of ancient Persia (as Iran was called until the 1930s) included perfumed stews flavored with cinnamon, mint, elaborate stuffed fruits and vegetables, and tender roasted meats — dishes that have influenced the cooking of countries as far-flung as India and Morocco. In many ways, Persian food is the original mother cuisine.
We went up to Vermont for the Labor Day weekend to celebrate my friend’s 30th birthday. My husband was the chef of the weekend and asked him to pick any recipe he would like to eat - knowing we were opening nice Rhone Valley and Bordeaux wines. He wanted to eat lamb shanks. In France, we usually eat lamb shanks with rosemary and red wine sauce or even in a cassoulet. But this time, it was all about spices and herbs.
Here is the traditional recipe for about 4 people.
Ingredients
4 meaty lamb shanks (5 pounds)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated cardamon
1 teaspoon ground dried rosebuds (optional)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron
Juice of 2 limes
3 teaspoons rosewater
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
the zest of 1 fresh lime and 1 orange
thyme sprigs and fresh bay leaves
6 cups hot chicken broth
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, mint and dill for garnish
Instructions
Step 1 - Trim any excess fat from lamb shanks and season with salt. Mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, rosebud, black pepper and turmeric. Sprinkle over lamb shanks and rub into the meat. Refrigerate overnight and then bring to room temperature.
Step 2 - Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add oil (1/2 inch). When oil is hot, add the shanks and fry until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Step 3 - Put saffron in a bowl with lime juice, rosewater and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Steep for about 10 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 4 - Remove carefully 2 tablespoons oil from the Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat (8-10 minutes). Season it with salt, lime zest, orange zest, thyme and bay leaves. Stir in saffron mixture. Lay in the lamb shanks and add the rest of the broth. Bring to boil, then turn off heat and cover pot.
Step 5 - Transfer Dutch oven to oven and bake for about 1.5 hours. Cook until the meat falls from the bone. Strain braising juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with wooden spoon and obtain all the liquid. Skim fat. Reheat strained juices and pour over lamb shanks. Combine parsley, mint and reserve orange zest and sprinkle over top.
Final step - Serve in low, wide soup plates. Accompany with couscous and grilled Mediterranean vegetables ( pepper, tomatoes, zucchini)
Wine pairing: I took the picture with the bottle of Rostaing before opening it. I was so excited to drink this wine but it was corked.. Fortunately we had other nice wines to open. I am never disappointed with Léoville Las Cases. This 1998 was spectacular. Those 23 years allowed the wine to soften and open its perfume. Regarding Clos de la Marechale, I am always nervous to open Mugnier’s wines. You need to be extremely patient with his wines. I recently had 2008 and it was not ready. 2004 is an important vintage. Clos de la Maréchale returned to the domaine after a 53-year farming contract with Faiveley ended. Very charming palate with nothing in excess, lightly sandy tannin in evidence.
