Posted by David Lebovitz - Nov.5 2014
When I moved to France, I was
surprised that lamb shanks were somewhat hard to find. Many butchers sold all
sorts of cuts of lamb, including lamb shoulders, ribs, and cutlets, but shanks
proved elusive. Then I learned that you had to ask for them; for some reason,
they’re always kept in the back. I’m not sure why, since it’s my favorite cut
of lamb and it deserves to be out in the open. Souris d’agneau (lamb shanks) don’t require a
lot of work. They rely on time, which turns a tough cut of meat into something
soft and succulent. And with shanks, each person gets their own portion, which
makes a nice presentation.
Last spring when I was on book tour
in Houston, Joshua Weissman stopped by to say hi. At the ripe age of seventeen,
Joshua runs a blog called Slim Palate.
Joshua had been a hefty kid and decided to do something about it. So he
challenged the way he ate, began eating healthy foods, and cooking for himself,
which is the best way to eat well. By doing so, he lost a whopping hundred pounds
on a Paleo diet.
It was such a success, that kids who’d previously teased him about his weight
at school started asking him for advice. So yes, it’s true: eating well is the
best revenge!
Before leaving, Joshua gave me a
copy of his book, The Slim Palate
Paleo Cookbook, which he wrote and photographed himself. Leafing
through the pages makes me feel like a loser. Because when I was seventeen, I
was listening to the Steve Miller Band with my shaggy hair and sneaking
cigarettes out in the backyard with the other kids in the neighborhood. (And
trying to figure out why I found Bette Midler more interesting than Raquel
Welch.)
I took a walk over to Belleville, to the butchers that I frequent, who are used to l’américain asking them too-many questions about all the meats and sausages that they sell, including spicy merguez, and whole roasted lamb heads – which, so far, I’ve passed on.
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