29 April 2016

« Souris d'agneau » with beans and greens

It is funny that the shank end of the leg of lamb is called "the mouse" in France. From what I've read, it's the shape and plumpness of the lump of shank meat that reminded somebody of a mouse (une souris). We enjoyed slow-cooked lamb shank at the restaurant called La Villa in Montrichard a week ago, but I forgot to take a photo.


Then I was at SuperU a couple of days later, and I was surprised to see souris d'agneau in the butcher section of the supermarket. I'd never noticed them there before. I looked through the half-dozen shanks (€13/kg) and picked out two of about the same size for a future lunch. Well, yesterday was that future. I cooked the lamb "mice" in the slow-cooker (la mijoteusemijoter means to simmer) with some tomato sauce, red wine, and vegetable stock — say about half a cup of each.


Foods slow-cooked tend to release a lot of liquid that doesn't evaporate, so 1½ cups (about 350 ml) was enough to put in for the two souris. Some onion, garlic, bay leaves, hot red pepper flakes, and thyme went in along with the liquid. With the lamb, we had rice and some left over collard greens and red kidney beans cooked in a little tomato sauce. That way of cooking collards, with chickpeas or now red beans, is becoming a kitchen standard around here.

26 comments:

  1. Your beans and greens look yummy. Our resident carnivore, who worships lamb before all other meats, says the only vegetable that goes with lamb is green beans. Or, I should say, butter with some green beans cooked in it until they are gray (if they retain any shade of green, they are "pas cuit"--not "pas assez cuit" but as good as raw--which is "indigest"). As I am in charge of the non-flesh parts of the meals, I make whatever I want, usually based on what's at the market, and this causes much consternation as I am not giving the meat its full respect.

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    1. I assume your resident carnivore is French, but I may be wrong. The obligatory accompaniment for lamb in France is flageolets, not haricots verts (though they are the same thing, just at different stages of maturation). Walt and I are carnivores too, but good vegetables are always an important part of the diet.

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    2. I like my green beans cooked down until they are a very dark green and soft. A few potatoes steamed on top and maybe a couple onions make a nice meal with ripe tomatoes and corn bread....

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  2. I've noticed that lamb shanks have been available for the past month to six weeks in the supermarket, whereas normally I don't see them at all. I think it must be a spinoff of Easter lamb production. Anyway, I've bought them twice this year and a very nice treat they are too.

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    1. Thanks, Susan. I had never seen them in the supermarket until now. I know you can order lamb shanks from a local butcher, and I was getting ready to do that...

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  3. I love lamb shank... It has become an English pub staple... But often quick cooked and exceeding tough! And I mean exceeding!
    This, tho' looks very nice... As does the beans and collard mix....
    Fortunately...I decided to eat before opening your post!!

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    1. Slow-cooking is the key, I think. My "mice" cooked for nearly 12 hours.

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  4. You make cooking seem easy, Ken. I think I'll look at Publix for lamb shanks today.

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    1. If you have a crock pot and can find the lamb shanks, you are good to go. My slow cooker is a huge 6 qt. model. The 1½ cups of liquid I put in seemed pretty skimpy, but it all worked like a charm.

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  5. What brand of red kidney beans are they? Those I bought in Paris were almost inedible because of the extra tough skin. I had to purée them! Not my idea of haricots rouges au lard fumé.

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    1. Saint-Eloi beans in a can. Intermarché -- Saint-Eloi might be an Intermarché house brand. I had that tough skins problem with some dried pinto beans I bought years ago. I gave up on those, but the red beans in a can are good. I wish I could find pinto beans in a can.

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    2. I used to have lots of trouble with tough dried beans. Then I read that beans continue to dry out as the age; if you keep beans too long, they will be much harder (if not impossible) to cook to a soft texture. Now I try not to keep dried beans for any longer than about 6 months, and I get much more consistent results.

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    3. I guess the problem is knowing how old the beans are when you buy them. I always bring back field peas and lima beans from N.C. and I've never had a problem. But I've always heard tht older dried beans need longer cooking than younger ones.

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    4. The problem with canned food is the amount of salt added. If I use dried beans, for instance, I can put just the amount of salt I want or, most of the time, none at all.

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    5. Sounds like you need to find fresh beans -- tender skins, no salt. Actually, if you rinse the canned beans thoroughly, or parboil them, you eliminate most of the salt. If salt is that bad, don't eat sauerkraut, cured pork products like ham, cheese, or... well, nearly everything.

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    6. Ken, now you've extended you plot, have you thought about growing your own Pinto beans?

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    7. When I cook from scratch, I very seldom use any salt, but a lot of pepper. That way it compensates somewhat for the excess salt in the food that I cannot wash away.

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  6. Looks delicious, The sauce on the rice - yum!

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    1. That was the lamb cooking liquid on the rice. Delicious.

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    2. That was the lamb cooking liquid on the rice. Delicious.

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  7. It all looks wonderful.

    I'm pleased to report that I finally had collard greens yesterday at a Memphis-style barbecue place. They were delicious, a bit liked cooked spinach but with a little more substance to the leaves and a taste of pork. The restaurant also served something called 7 Up cake.

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    1. Collard greens are good fiber, and taste good if cooked right. Glad you enjoyed them. I think I've vaguely heard of that cake but never tried it.

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  8. my crock pot is a big one too, so it's good to know that it will work anyhow. Will go to the store after lunch.

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  9. Heading out to get a lamb shank now....

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    1. Picked collards and mustard greens yesterday....

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    2. I just planted my "rescued" collard greens in the garden plot today. Now I need to transplant my two types of kale ("dinosaur" and Russian red) out there. Walt leaves for Montréal and Albany tomorrow, but I have plenty to keep me busy.

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