Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Parmesan Mash

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shanks (about 1.6kg total)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 300ml red wine
• 500ml beef or lamb beef stock
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1.2kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 50g butter
• 150ml milk, warmed
• 60g Parmesan, grated
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Pat the shanks dry and season generously with salt and pepper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until it shimmers.
2. Brown the shanks in two batches if your pan is tight — don't crowd them. All four at once and the pan drops temperature, water comes out, and you've stewed the lamb instead of searing it. Turn every couple of minutes until deeply coloured on all sides, 8–10 minutes per batch. Those dark stuck bits on the base of the pan are pure flavour.
3. Drop to medium heat and add the onion and carrot to the same pan. Soften until beginning to caramelise at the edges, about 8 minutes, scraping up the fond as they release moisture.
4. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook just until fragrant — 30 seconds, no more. Burnt garlic turns the whole braise bitter. Stir in the tomato purée and let it cook out for 30 seconds until it darkens a shade.
5. Pour in the red wine to deglaze, scraping every last sticky bit off the base. Let it bubble hard for 2–3 minutes until the harsh alcohol smell has burned off and the liquid looks glossy.
6. Transfer the shanks, vegetables and liquid to a slow cooker, pour over the hot stock, cover and cook on low for 5–6 hours until the meat is falling from the bone and gives no resistance to a fork.
7. Lift the shanks out, shred the meat and discard the bones and excess fat. Return the shredded lamb to the cooker. If the braising liquid looks thin, reduce it in a pan on the hob until glossy and coating a spoon. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table.
8. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in well-salted water — it should taste like the sea — until a knife slides through with no resistance, 15–18 minutes. Drain and let the steam dry off in the colander for a minute. Dry potatoes drink butter; wet potatoes turn gluey.
9. Mash with the butter and warmed milk until smooth, then fold in the grated Parmesan. Taste and season — the Parmesan brings salt, but it usually wants a final pinch to pull it together.
10. Spoon the Parmesan mash onto warmed plates, pile the shredded lamb on top, ladle plenty of the sticky braising sauce over, and scatter the chopped parsley across each plate.