Orange Braised Lamb Shanks

Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 lamb shanks
• 1 carrot, diced finely
• 1 medium onion, diced finely
• 2 celery ribs, diced fine
• 2 -3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 -3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 oranges, juice and zest of, finely grated (no pith)
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of, finely grated (no pith)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated tomato puree)
• 1 1/2 cups wine
• 1 cup lamb stock (or water)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 300°f.
• 2 in a suitable casserole dish, sweat the diced vegetables in some of the olive oil without browning until tender.
• 3 add the thyme, bay leaves, garlic, tomato, wine and lamb stock or water, along with most of the orange zest and juice (retain a few pinches of zest and 1 tbsp of juice).
• 4 bring to the boil and lower to a gentle simmer.
• 5 heat a little more olive oil in a separate pan and brown the lamb shanks on all sides, seasoning with a little salt and pepper as you go.
• 6 transfer to the casserole dish and cover with its lid.
• 7 transfer to the oven and cook for approx 2hours or until the meat is completely tender and coming off the bone.
• 8 remove the shanks from the pan and keep warm while you finish the sauce.
• 9 skim off some of the fat that is floating on it. taste for seasoning and to assess its intensity, boil to reduce if you think it needs it.
• 10 stir in the reserved juice to refresh the citrus flavour.
• 11 serve one lamb shank on each warmed plate with a generous amount of sauce spooned over.
• 12 sprinkle each shank with a little parsley and a pinch of the reserved zest.