Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary Parmentier Potatoes (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 large lamb shanks
Plain flour
Butter
Olive oil
2 red onions, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100ml balsamic vinegar
500ml full bodied red wine
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
Sprig of rosemary
Parmentier Potatoes:
About 12 medium sized potatoes
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
Generous knob of melted butter
3 teaspoons of dried parsley
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt & pepper
- Heat oven to 150C / fan 140 / gas mark 2
- Dust the lamb shanks with flour and season with salt & pepper
- Heat a casserole dish on the hob and add a little butter and olive oil. Add the onions and cook until soft, then scoop out
- Place the lamb shanks into the casserole and brown all over. Return the onions into the casserole dish and add the garlic, balsamic, red wine, tomato puree, rosemary and season
- Cover, move the casserole to the oven and cook for 2 and a half hours until the meat is almost falling off the bone
- Remove the lamb from the pot and keep warm, boil down the juices to thicken if the juices appear too thin.
- Meanwhile place a large baking tray into a preheated oven 200C / fan 180C /gas mark 6
- Peel and dice the potatoes into half inch / 1cm cubes. Melt the butter and stir in the parsley
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Over a moderate heat, add the cubed potatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the potatoes browning or sticking to the pan.
- Remove the rosemary leaves from the stalks and chop finely, transfer the potatoes to the baking tray. Mix parsley butter in with the potatoes and sprinkle with rosemary and season.
- Roast for 30 minutes, shaking halfway to prevent sticking.
The braised lamb shank is a rich dish so serve with lots of seasonal green vegetables.