Simon's lamb shanks

Vanessa Lewis

Okay, so you’re thinking, “here we go with another lamb shank recipe”. I dare you to try this combo. I’ve spiced up the shanks with some delicious harissa paste that you’ll find in the supermarket and am serving them with a smashed pea freekeh rather than mash. It’s easy as anything to prepare and ticks all the boxes.

Ingredients

4	Lamb hind shanks (Main)
2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1	Onion, finely diced
2	Carrots, peeled and finely diced
2	Celery stalks, finely diced
½ cup	Red wine
½ cup	Tomato ketchup, I use Gault's - sweetened only by vegetables
2 Tbsp	Harissa paste
6 cups	Lamb stock
1 ½ Tbsp	Cornflour
3 Tbsp	Water
1 sprinkle	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, to serve

Directions

1. Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. In a frying pan, brown the shanks on all sides in oil. Place in a slow cooker or crockpot.
2. Next into the pan add in the onion, carrot and celery, cook until soft.
3. Pour in the red wine and reduce by half.
4. Next add the tomato ketchup, harissa and lamb stock.
5. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker or crockpot.
6. Place lid on the slow cooker or crockpot and set on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours until the meat almost falls of the bones.
7. To make a jus from the cooking liquid, remove shanks the slow cooker, cover in foil to keep warm and set aside.
8. Strain cooking liquid from slow cooker into a pot and bring to the boil. Mix cornflour with 3 tablespoons of water, add to the pot and stir until the jus thickens slightly. Check seasoning and pour the jus back over the shanks to serve.
9. Serve the shanks over the Smashed Pea Freekeh (see recipe link below) with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and chopped Italian parsley.

Also try Simon's smashed pea freekeh