Tuesday, 26th Dec 2006

Lamb Shanks - first attempt.

Ingredients

4 frozen lamb shanks (from BMC)

Onions - cut into quarters

Carrots - cut into thick rings

Whole shallots
Whole cloves of garlic

A lot of herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, mixed, lamb, etc & bay leaves)

A lot of blackpepper

Tin of chopped tomatoes

Half a bottle of red wine

Salt

Flour

Method

1. Trim and clean lamb shanks. Season with s & p and pat flour on surface.

2. In separate pan, lightly brown shallots and garlic - put aside.

3. Lightly brown carrots and put aside.

4. Brown shanks in a large hot pan till edges are golden brown and flour looks crunchy on surface. This creates a hellofamess in the kitchen so those of you with an outside kitchen, use it!

5. Dust herbs and black pepper liberally all over shanks. Continue frying till aroma of herbs & lamb reach every corner of the house. Add onions and browned shallots/garlic. Fry till onions have caramelised, with charred edges.

6. Throw in half a bottle of red wine all in one go - let it come to the boil and reduce slightly.

7. Add tomatoes and browned carrots.

9. Stir and reduce heat till it is barely simmering. Turn shanks every 15/20 minutes or just leave them alone and let them stew. (applies to grumpy men and kids too).

11. After 2.5 hours, turn heat off. Lamb should be soft & tender, and falling off the bone, and should have taken on the flavourings of the herbs & wine. Gravy should be thick and dark and oh so tasty, all the tomatoes would have melted and the garlic and onions soft and ploppy. J & M popped in briefly and I gave them some to try. I've collected 2 stamps of approval.

I've stuck the lot into the fridge to let the flavours develop and serve tomorrow. Wm and all will be back from HK with a bag of edamame for me! I'll also make turkey soup with the carcass from my xmas dinner. And I know Mum would have packed a box of fresh HK vegs.

I heart cooking.

You can of course use stock instead of wine.