-
1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
2
Place garlic heads in a small roasting dish and drizzle each half with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
-
3
Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until soft.
-
4
Let cool slightly and squeeze the cloves of garlic into a small bowl.
-
5
For the lamb shanks:
-
6
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
7
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven until smoking.
-
8
Season the shanks on both sides with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown on both sides, remove to a plate.
-
9
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan and add the celery, carrots and onions and cook until caramelized.
-
10
Add the port and red wine and cook until almost completely reduced.
-
11
Add the chicken stock, thyme, parsley sprigs and shanks and salt and pepper and bring to a boil on the stove, cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is tender.
-
12
Remove shanks to a plate and loosely tent with foil to keep warm.
-
13
Strain the cooking liquid into a medium saucepan and discard the solids Whisk in the roasted garlic and cook over high heat, whisking occasionally, until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes.
-
14
Remove 1 cup of the liquid to use for the orzo and continue reducing the remaining liquid by half again or until thickened to a glaze.
-
15
Serve the lamb on top of the orzo and drizzle the shanks with the reduced cooking liquid, oven roasted tomatoes and chopped parsley.
-
16
For the orzo pasta:
-
17
Heat a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
-
18
Add 1/2 of the orzo and toast until golden brown.
-
19
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, add the onion and cook until soft.
-
20
Add the toasted orzo and the remaining orzo and saute for 1 minute to coat the pasta with the oil/onion mixture.
-
21
Bring 8 cups of water or chicken stock to a boil in a medium pot (or a combination of chicken stock and water) and add hot water/stock to the orzo as if you were making risotto, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente (you may not need to use all of the water).
-
22
Stir in the cold butter and a 1 cup of the braising liquid, chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste and cook 1 minute longer.
-
23
For the slow roasted tomatoes:
-
24
Toss the tomatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a 200 degree F oven for 6 hours.
