Lamb Shanks in Minted Rosemary Sauce

Most of us buy ready to cook lamb shanks from many of the big supermarkets, especially as so many of them are actually very good value, both in terms of money and weight loss!

However, nothing can beat the taste of a good home cooked lamb shank. All you need is a little time....

Ingredients:

Lamb Shanks (all visible fat removed) - 1 per person
3 Leeks finely chopped
6 Whole garlic cloves
Water (sufficient to cover shanks)
Lamb stock cube
2 Sprigs fresh rosemary
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped mint
Splash or two of red wine vinegar
Fry light
Salt & Pepper

Method:

If you have one, use a Cast Iron Roaster or anything similar that can be used on a hob and in the oven.

1. Pre-heat oven to Gas MK4 / 180 degrees
2. Spray pot with fry light, add salt and pepper, heat pan on hob and brown the lamb shanks, making sure you get each side nicely browned and sealed
3. Whilst shanks are browning, finely chop 3 leeks. Our tip is to split each leek down the middle then finely chop them.
4. Add the rosemary, leeks and garlic cloves to pot and cook until leeks start to caramelise. Add a little more salt and pepper at this stage.
5. When the leeks are nicely colouring, add the red wine vinegar to de-glaze the pan base, and then add the boiling water from a kettle, enough to just cover the lamb shanks. Almost is good enough!
6. Make sure the water is boiling and then cover and pop into the oven, mid shelf, for about 2 hours.
7. After one hour, check and turn shanks.
8. After 2 hours, check the shanks with a knife, it should easily penetrate the meat. If they are tender, remove shanks from liquid and place on a separate tray and pop back in the oven to continue cooking uncovered so they brown. If you are roasting vegetables (as we did), just sit the shanks on top of those.
9. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a suitable jug or saucepan, use the back of a spoon to press as much liquid as you can.
10. Pop the liquid back onto the hob, bring to a boil, then reduce to a good rolling simmer and add the lamb stock cube and fresh chopped mint. Leave to simmer until well reduced so that the flavour intensifies and you have a nice sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Check seasoning and add salt & pepper if required.
11. When shank is nicely browned, remove from oven and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes whilst the roast vegetables etc finish off.
12. We served ours with a simple roast carrot and parsnip accompaniment, so no potatoes needed.