Solar Lamb Shanks with Beans

My standard answer to the question, "What kind of things can you cook in the Sun Oven?" is, "Anything you would make in your slow cooker will come out even better in it." But in reality I've never been very fond of slow cookers and hardly ever use mine. My go to appliance in my pre-solar cooking days was the pressure cooker. But whenever I say "pressure cooker" in public I see a flicker of fear in people's eyes as they remember being told of a friend of a friend's grandmother's pressure cooker exploding and almost killing her. I'd don't want anyone to associate the Sun Oven with anything that would harm a poor helpless grannie, so I just say slow cooker - most people seem to be able to relate to them more easily. However, if you happen to be looking for new ideas for things to make in your Sun Oven, pressure cooker recipes are usually very easy to adapt. Like Sun Oven recipes, they call for less liquid, all the ingredients go into the pot together, and there's no need to stir. My favorite pressure cooker books are by Lorna Sass and today's dish is adapted from one of her recipes. I use the reserved cooking liquid, and any leftover beans, to make the best pasta fagioli ever - but that's another blog post.

Lamb Shank with White Beans

1 TBLS oil
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks
1/2 cup diced carrot
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
3/4 lb cannellini beans, soaked overnight
2 large lamb shanks, excess fat trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

Heat oil in a heavy dutch oven. Add leeks and carrots and cook for a minute or two. Add beans, water, bay leaves, and lamb shanks. Cover and place in Sun Oven for approx. 3 hours. Remove lamb shanks. Drain beans (reserve liquid for future use). Return beans to pot, season with salt and pepper, vinegar and chopped rosemary.