Lamb Shanks in a Red Wine Sauce

Vegetarians turn away!

This dish takes a bit of time, but it's worth the wait...

Recipe:
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
3 stalks celery finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 small can tomatoes
5 cups stock
1 bottle red wine
2 lamb shanks
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
olive oil

First set your oven to 325*.  Puree one small can of organic tomatoes, and place in a roasting pan, add one cup of stock.  Cover with a lid or foil, then place in the oven for one and a half to two hours.  The flavors will really intensify by taking the time to do this step.  Make sure not to dry it out, add more stock if needed.

Take the shanks out of the fridge an hour before cooking them.  Place your chopped onions, carrot and celery on a cutting board and chop together a little more to infuse flavors.  This mixture is now called mirepoix.  Saute the mirepoix in a little olive oil until soft, add the garlic and then set aside.

Empty one bottle of red wine into a pan.  Over high heat bring the wine up to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and reduce the liquid by two thirds.  Now do the same thing with the rest of the stock.

When the tomatoes are done, remove from oven and set aside.  Now season the shanks with salt and pepper.  Using a saute pan over high heat with a little olive oil, brown all sides of the shanks.

Add the shanks, rosemary, mirepoix, wine, stock and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the tomatoes.  Cover and return to the oven for 3 hours.  After 3 hours, if there is a lot of liquid left in the pan, cook for another half hour with the lid or foil removed, but be careful not to dry it out.  A cast iron dutch oven works well for this.

Serve over sweet potato and potato mash...

Bon Appetit!