Chef Maximo Lopez may not read German, and his memories of his Jewish grandmother are faint, but a silver-covered German-language cookbook she carried when fleeing Germany for safety in Argentina remains his greatest inspiration.
“If I imagine myself in that situation, what would I take?” Lopez said. “The book was very important to her, so it became an inspiration to me.”
Lopez, who hosts several cooking shows on El Gourmet, the Latin American food network, is executive chef at Wall & Water at Andaz Wall Street in New York City.
Orange-and-cinnamon-scented lamb shank with Parmesan grits Serves 8
For the lamb shanks:
8 lamb shanks
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 Spanish onions
2 carrots
4 stalks celery
6 cloves garlic
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup canned tomatoes, drained
1½ cups brandy
½ gallon lamb stock
4 sticks cinnamon
2 oranges
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil, as needed
Butcher’s twine, as needed
Begin by trimming each shank: remove the first three inches of tissue from the thin end of the bone and truss the remaining meat with butcher’s twine. Place the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Clean and rough‑chop the carrots, onions, and celery. Drain the canned tomatoes to remove excess moisture. Use a vegetable peeler to remove only the zest from the oranges and reserve it; then juice the oranges and set the juice aside.
Heat a braising pan over medium-high with enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Season the shanks with salt and pepper, dredge in the seasoned flour, and pat off excess. Brown the shanks on all sides until richly colored, then remove them from the pan. Add the chopped carrots, onions, and celery to the pan and caramelize for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to lift the fond. Add the garlic, thyme, and drained tomatoes and cook for three minutes. Deglaze with the brandy and the reserved orange juice, reducing by half.
Return the lamb shanks to the pan, add the cinnamon sticks and orange zest, and cover with lamb stock. Season the braising liquid to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover, and braise for about 2½ hours or until the meat is tender and nearly falling from the bone. The butcher’s twine will keep the shanks intact while they cook.
For the Parmesan grits:
16 ounces instant grits
7½ cups chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan
½ cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Warm the chicken stock and season it. Slowly whisk in the instant grits and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken, about four minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream and grated Parmesan until smooth and fully incorporated. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Presentation:
Remove the twine from the shanks. Spoon a bed of Parmesan grits onto each plate, place a shank atop the grits, and ladle some of the braising juices over the meat before serving.
Berry crumble with crème Anglaise Serves 8
For the filling:
1½ cups blackberries
1½ cups blueberries
1½ cups raspberries
1½ cups strawberries, hulled and halved
¾ cup granulated sugar
Combine all the berries in a mixing bowl and toss with the sugar to coat evenly. Set aside while preparing the streusel.
For the oatmeal streusel topping:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1¼ cups light brown sugar
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ cups rolled oats
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the room-temperature butter, both sugars, and the cinnamon until light and fluffy. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the oats, flour, and vanilla. Combine thoroughly, finishing by rubbing the mixture between your hands to create a coarse, crumbly streusel.
Assembly and baking: For each serving, place about ¾ cup of the sugared berries into a small cast-iron dish or similar ovenproof vessel. Top generously with the oatmeal streusel. Bake at 375°F for 12–15 minutes, until the topping is golden and the berries are bubbling. Serve warm with crème Anglaise.
For the crème Anglaise:
1¼ cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
4 egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
Combine the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean in a small saucepan and let the mixture sit to infuse the vanilla. Set up a double boiler by filling a larger pot with water and bringing it to a gentle simmer over low heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes pale.
Heat the milk mixture to about 180°F. Temper the yolks by whisking in 2 ounces of the hot milk, then slowly add the remaining milk, whisking constantly. Place the bowl over the double boiler and stir continuously with a heatproof spatula until the custard thickens to the consistency of heavy cream or reaches about 160°F. Remove from heat, strain through a fine-mesh sieve, and cool the sauce quickly in an ice bath. Serve the crème Anglaise slightly warm alongside the berry crumble.