lamb shank

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 lamb shanks
• salt and pepper
• 2 bunches of soup vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery root, leeks)
• 4 tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 carnations
• 5 juniper berries
• some flour
• 2 onions
• ½ liter red wine
• ¾ liter of water
• Oil for frying
• possibly roux to bind
• some sugar or honey
• n. B. Parsley from the soup vegetables, freshly chopped
• possibly thyme
• possibly rosemary
• possibly spice mix (lamb spice)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours 30 minutes

Roughly trim the lamb shanks, season with salt and pepper, then flour them. Sear them in a little oil; the flour works really well and thickens the sauce later. Remove the shank. Cut the vegetables into 1-2 cm cubes. In the same casserole dish, roast the vegetables together with the tomatoes and onions and season with a little salt and pepper. I recommend adding the leftover trimmings to the mixture as well. Let everything brown a little. Then add the tomato paste and mix the vegetables together so that the tomato paste doesn’t stick but is evenly distributed. Deglaze with 1/4 l of wine and reduce by half. Then add the remaining wine and about 3/4 l water. Return the shanks to the casserole dish. Add the bay leaves and juniper berries, first gently pressing the berries down with the flat side of a knife. Also add the cloves. Cover the shanks and braise in the oven at 120-140°C (top/bottom heat) for about 2-3 hours. 2-3 cm of the shanks should be visible above the meat. Turn them once an hour to check if the meat is tender. Remove the shanks, then strain the entire contents of the pot through a sieve and transfer to another pot if necessary. Reduce the liquid by about half, then return the shanks. Thicken slightly with a roux if there wasn’t enough flour on the shanks. Only when the sauce has thickened do you season it with salt and sugar or honey, although the carrots usually add enough sweetness. Only now add the freshly chopped parsley. If you like, you can also add some rosemary and thyme or lamb seasoning.