Braised Lamb Shanks with Leeks & Root Vegetables

Just another braising recipe...and a delicious one too !

Time: 3 hours
Effort: Easy
Serves: 4


Ingredients
4 lamb shanks (bone in)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups beef stock
2 cups dry red wine
8 garlic cloves, halved
4 bay leaves
5-6 carrots, whole
1 small head of Savoy cabbage, quartered
2 leeks quartered cross-wise
Salt & pepper to taste
Water as necessary

Using a large pot, heat up the olive oil until very hot. Add the shanks and brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium and add the rest of the ingredients except the water. Cover and simmer for one hour or more until the vegetables are cooked. Remove the vegetables into a large ovenware dish and set aside. Continue simmering the shanks for another hour and a half on medium low, until the meat is almost falling from the bone. At this point you may need to add a little warm water if too much of the liquid has evaporated. Once the meat is cooked, add it to the vegetables, cover and keep warm in the oven at 300oF.
To make the sauce: reduce heat to low. Remove the bay leaves - now all you have in the pot is the sauce and the cooked garlic cloves. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Using a hand blender, grind up the garlic cloves in the sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened. Serve over the lamb shanks and vegetables.
(I served this dish with olive oil roast potatoes and some chopped parsley).