Slow-Cooked Lamb Shank with Rosemary & Red Wine

• 4lamb shanks, about 1.8 kg including bones
• 400 mlbeef stock
• 5garlic cloves, minced
• 1 x 400gtin chopped tomatoes
• 3carrots, cut into 2cm pieces
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• Fine salt, to taste
• 2onions, finely diced
• 3sprigs fresh rosemary, optional, removed before serving (optional)
• 400 mlfull-bodied red wine
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 2bay leaves, optional, removed before serving (optional)
• 15 gparsley leaves, torn
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1.05 kgprepared mashed potato or soft polenta, optional (optional)

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 160°C fan. Pat the lamb shanks bone-dry with kitchen paper, season generously with salt and pepper on every surface.
2. 2Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole over high heat until it shimmers. Sear the shanks in two batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply mahogany and crusted. Don't crowd the pan; all four at once and they'll boil in their own juices instead of building fond. Lift them out and set aside.
3. 3Drop the heat to medium. Fry the onions and carrots in the rendered fat for around 8 minutes, until softened, glossy, and catching gold at the edges. Stir in the garlic and tomato puree and cook for 60 seconds.
4. 4Pour in the red wine and bring to a brisk boil, scraping up every sticky brown bit from the base of the pan with a wooden spoon. That's the flavour of the sear dissolving into the sauce. Let it bubble hard for 4 minutes, until reduced by about a third and the sharp alcohol smell has burned off.
5. 5Tip in the chopped tomatoes and stock, then add the optional rosemary and bay. Nestle the shanks back in so they're mostly submerged and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. 6Cover tightly and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 to 3½ hours, turning the shanks once at the halfway mark, until the meat is collapsing from the bone and the sauce coats the back of a spoon in a glossy sheet.
7. 7Lift out the shanks and keep them warm. Fish out the rosemary stalks and bay leaves. If the sauce is loose, simmer it on the hob for a few minutes to tighten. Taste; it may want a final pinch of salt to lift the wine.
8. 8Serve each shank with plenty of sauce and torn parsley. Add the optional prepared mash or soft polenta if using.

Per serving

kcal

975

protein

71.9g

fibre

4.9g

carbs

25.5g

fat

57.5g