I had some lamb shanks in the freezer, so I braised them in tomato and red wine, with lots of garlic, eggplant (“lemon eggplant”/“lamb and eggplant”) and spinach. Served over orzo.
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Very simple! It’s just the generic Greek tomato sauce, doubled for the two shanks, with maybe a little more red wine (1/4 bottle). After the sauce started to simmer on the stovetop, I added a medium eggplant, diced, mixed it up, then placed the shanks on top, so that they were about 2/3 submerged in the sauce. Then, into a 325F oven for two hours, flipping the shanks every half hour and monitoring the liquid level (I needed to add just a little water after the first hour). I added shredded spinach after I removed it from the oven. I cooked the orzo separately, and sprinkled some grated halloumi after serving. If I were serving this to more people, I would have cooked the orzo in the braising liquid, but I live alone and leftover orzo gets too soggy.
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Also, I used the big can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes, instead of diced tomatoes, smooshed down and pulled apart while cooking. So, there were lots of bits of stewed tomato in the mix.
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We are not fans of kale at all …
Thanks @ernie_in_berkeley! I’ll have to try the oven braise again; in the past I wasn’t getting the end result I wanted, so started putting them in the crock pot to finally achieve the tender goodness desired. Other type shanks seem to tender up more easily then lamb somehow. Love the SM tomato usage, and the addition of spinach, and eggplant - a favorite ingredient. Not ready to say goodbye to summer, but looking forward to making some hearty Greek dishes this fall.
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My Bay Area microclimate is a land without summer, so the hearty dishes are just right. I can imagine that the crock pot would work fine, except browning might be difficult.
The secret to the oven braise is to keep it at a very low simmer, barely bubbling at all, by not putting a lid on the pot and keeping the temperature low. I once tried a classic French braise, gigot a la sept heures, seven-hour leg of lamb, but I kept the lid on and it boiled vigorously, toughening the meat and drying it out despite the liquid it was in. The shanks I made were very tender with a nice crust after two hours.
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Ahh, I’ve kept them covered in the oven, and even low and slow, what you described is exactly what happened. Will give it another go, we still have the shanks from the pastured lamb we buy yearly.
As far as Bay Area weather, I’ve had strange experiences over the years. I’ve been there many times at various times of the year, even staying for more than a few days. (Lived in Reno 9 years) Anyway, beyond all reason, always sunny and warm except the week spent in December one year, which was sunny and cold. I was beginning to think the legendary fog was a myth, until one visit when it was foggy, misty and rainy at last! But that was the only time. One extended Labor Day weekend, spent one of the days walking all over, and doing what one does in SF. Dressed sensibly in jeans and a sleeveless shirt, sneakers - was a little uneasy due to no sweater. Well, record breaking temps of 97, and sooo hot! And of course no A/C anywhere! But what fun…
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Vraiment remarquable !
Notable art of plating too.
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H’s lunch yesterday - a nice, crisp Greek salad with the usual, plus pepperoncini. Tomatoes, especially the cherries are starting to ripen in profusion.
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It was misty and cool on this August evening in the SF Bay Area , so I made a comfort dish from my childhood: yourvarlakia. Ground lamb mixed with uncooked rice and parsley, garlic, onion and oregano, shaped into balls, simmered in chicken stock from the freezer, finished with avgolemono.
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Oh yum, it looks and sounds delicious! Lucky you…Soon I’ll be making some savory Greek dishes for cooler weather. Sad to say, but we’re edging towards fall here. What a great summer though…
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Ummm yeah! You thought right! 
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I 
tomato season on HO!
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Try drizzling a little honey on your next tiropitakia
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Keftethes–lamb meatballs–two ways. Pan-fried on the right, and simmered in tomato sauce on the left, with rice, tomatoes and feta (I didn’t have any cucumbers), and a scoop of plain Greek yogurt at the top. Yogurt with rice is traditional in my family, but I don’t know how common it is with others.
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The bodega had those nice camarones again yesterday, and at home they became garithes, simmered in tomato sauce left over from my keftethes earlier this week.
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Thank You! I’ve probably got a little bit of all that! 
Melitzanosalata (eggplant dip), Feta in Olive Oil, Pita
I used the recipe from My Greek Dish @Phoenikia. This dip doesn’t have the creaminess of its mainstream cousin, Baba Ganoush. The eggplant is the star in this one. The accompaniment of soft feta in oil added the creamy. Served w/fresh made pita from my local Farmers Market.
Gigantes Plaki (Gigante Beans Baked in Tomato Sauce)
Simmered beans w/aromatics then baked in a slightly sweet, tomato sauce w/a skosh of red wine vinegar, pinch of aleppo pepper and sprinkled with feta. I didn’t have Gigantes but had Royal Coronas which are a good substitute and just as huge.
Most of my leftovers end up w/an egg on top and served for breakfast…
Delicious sprinkled w/tangy, ground, sumac berries & aleppo pepper, served w/pita bread.
Baked Chicken Thighs & Marinated White Beans
Marinated the biso thighs in greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, herbs
Marinated the leftover royal corona beans in olive oil, lemon juice, preserved lemon, rice vinegar, ground mustard, shallots, garlic, parsley, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, S&P.
I got a lot of mileage from one pot of royal corona beans…
Lemony Bean Soup w/Marinated Beans & Pea Greens
Happy Greek and Greek-ish Eating! 
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