your best lamb shank recipes please!

[jennymac]

Fancy cooking lamb shanks this weekend for the first time. Would love to hear some tried and tested recipes please.

Weirdly enough, I am also cooking lamb shanks this weekend.

What I do is trim extra fat off the shanks and brown them really well all over in a very hot pot to seal (the pot smokes when I throw in the lamb). Then I remove them to a plate and cool the pot down a bit. I add a little oil and loads of minced garlic and saute. When I say loads I mean maybe an entire head of garlic. Before it burns I deglaze the pot with about 1/3 bottle of dry white wine. Then I return the shanks to the pot and add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and a good pinch of salt.

I bring it to the boil and then let it simmer, covered, for a while, poking it about occasionally. When it seems to be reduced considerably I add boiling water to just about cover the shanks. I add two tins of drained cannellini beans and allow the whole lot to simmer for about half an hour or more, checking occasionally and digging bits off the bottom. What I am looking for as the end result is beans that have caramelised on the bottom of the pan, not burnt, and meat falling from the bone. At this point the bones and undissolved fat and gristle can be removed from the pot and you can season to taste.

Nice with a green salad with fresh chopped basil and parsley and some crusty bread.

Sounds lovely mathsanxiety - you don't need any stock then?

No because the bone and cartilage, etc., create stock as they cook. You could use stock if you wanted instead of water -- a nice veg stock would impart more flavour.

Have you got a slow cooker?

I brown the shanks slightly in a pan first but you don't have to. I usually add finely chopped onion and carrot to the bottom of the slow cooker, some garlic, tom puree, a glass of red wine, a teaspoonful of moroccan seasoning and just leave it to all cook down. You may need a bit more liquid but best to see how it goes as you need less in a slow cooker.

I sometimes also throw in a couple of chopped, dried apricots - they dissolve and add a lovely sweetness, or some honey.

I also sometimes add chickpeas at the end (last half hour) to bulk it out if I want it more like a stew..