Braised Lamb Shank

This is the recipe that made me think that cooking is not as hard as it seems, and that I could really be a decent home cook.  It also made me realise that the way to your hub's heart could be through his tummy as I received rave reviews from him!

However...... recently, I made extras during a session and froze them; 3 months later it is still sitting in the fridge.  He said it is too heavy for him, hahaha.

Oh well.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
200ml red wine
1 can of whole tomatoes with juice (400g) (i used the brand Cirio I Pelati)
300ml chicken stock
300ml beef stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or dried)
1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or dried)


Directions:

• Season shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate.
• Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. 
• Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
• Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer. 

Notes:

• thanks to my kitchen art pots, the total simmering time only took slightly more than 1 hour.  And the shank already turned out fork tender!
• while simmering, always remember to stir occassionally.  I burnt the base of my shank once!

My very first attempt - would have referred more gravy!