The old adage that a protein load helps you recover from a hangover was presented in a Men’s Health Magazine around 2013/2014. Of course, as responsible wine drinkers, we rarely reach a point of needing such a cure. But just for fun, we tested their recipe, and then massaged it to become a wine-pairing, before you are drunk, entrée. This works well with our Mafalda blend of earthy Cabernet Franc, even though there are no mushrooms in this dish. There are also no eggs in this recipe, as the original called for. Even hung over, we wouldn’t do that. We made this in a crock-pot for an easy meal, very little monitoring, using the lamb shank. You can also use a large sauté pan with high sides if you’re in a hurry, but then you wouldn’t use the lamb shank.

1 head garlic, right not 1 clove, minced
3 peppers, sliced, such as Anaheim, or as spicy as you can tolerate
12 medium fresh tomatoes during the summer, chopped, or 2-15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp hot paprika
1/2 Tbsp sweet paprika
enough water to cover the lamb shank

Then, either stove top or crockpot:

Method one, stove top

1 pound lamb sausage, bulk, crumbled

Brown the sausage in 1/4 cup olive oil, add garlic and peppers, and then cook until vegetables are softened. Stir in the tomatoes and cook briefly, about 5 minutes. Mix in the paprikas. If using only sausage, cook on low for 20 minutes, covered. Serve with crusty bread.

Method two, using crockpot

1 pound spicy Italian sausage, crumbled, and
1 lamb shank, small enough to fit in the crockpot

Brown sausage as above then put in crock pot with lamb shank, vegetables and paprikas, put on low for 8 hours. (If using all sausage, cook 2 hours.) Remove the lamb shank and its meat from the crockpot. Pull the meat from the bone and cut into forksize bites. Return meat to pot and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a ladle onto deep plates or into bowls. Serve with crusty bread.