Before Las Vegas learned to glow, much of Nevada's high desert was sheep country, and many of the men who herded the flocks came from the Basque Country in the western Pyrenees. Between long stretches alone in the high desert they came into towns such as Elko, Winnemucca and Reno, where Basque boarding houses offered a bed, their own language and dinner at a long shared table. Some of those houses have been feeding people since 1898. The meal still arrives the old way, course after course for everyone at once: soup, bread, salad, beans, then the main event, very often lamb, and very often with garlic in quantities that would alarm a cautious cook.

This dish lives in the north of the state, a long day's drive from the Las Vegas Strip, but it is as Nevadan as anything on it. A braise is also the most relaxed thing you can cook on a race day. Brown the shanks, slide the pot into the oven, and for the next two and a half hours the kitchen does the work while you watch practice, and the whole house smells like a sheep camp with very good taste.

The lamb shanks

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shanks
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup (40 g) all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 whole head garlic
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Espelette pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) dry red wine
• 2 cups (480 ml) beef or chicken stock
• 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Method

1. Set a rack in the lower middle of the oven and heat it to 325°F (165°C). Pat the shanks dry, season all over with the salt and pepper, then roll each one in the flour in the shallow dish and tap off the excess.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the shanks two at a time, turning them with the tongs every 2 to 3 minutes, for about 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Move them to the plate. Browning builds most of the flavor in the finished sauce, so do not hurry it.
3. Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, then the onion, bell pepper, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, for 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and Espelette pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon to dissolve every brown bit. Deglazing simply means using liquid to lift the flavorful browned layer off the pan.
6. Add the stock, canned tomatoes with their juice, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary, and bring to a simmer. Return the shanks and any juices from the plate, nestling them in so they are mostly covered. Put on the lid and transfer the pot to the oven for 2 1/2 hours, turning the shanks over once halfway.

The sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Lift the shanks carefully onto a warm platter and cover loosely with foil; they are fragile now. Remove the bay leaves and herb stems. Tilt the pot and spoon off the clear yellow fat that collects on the surface.
2. Set the pot over medium high heat on the stove and simmer the sauce, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in the parsley.

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