Italian style slow cooked lamb shanks

This is a delicious winter or springtime dish

INGREDIENTS

2 x lamb shanks (Agonis Ridge or Jindong Free range)

1 x onion diced ( all year Manjimup Fruit & Veggies or summertime McLeod Veggies)

5 cloves of fresh garlic – early harvest (Peter Horne)

4 x sticks celery sliced (Manjimup Fruit & Veggies)

1 x large beetroot diced (Manjimup Fruit & veggies, Patchwork Farm, Mammone’s Fruit and Veggies, season depending quite a few other stalls)

4 bay leaves (Jersey Farm or your home garden)

4-6 big sprigs of oregano fresh (Oasis Hydroponic or your home garden)

1 x cup of red wine (Gordo Wines or a plethora of other local wines available in our town)

3 x tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive oil (Uralba Eco Farm, Agonis Ridge, Jersey Farm, Karridale Olive Farm)

750 ml of homemade passata (infused with basil) In Autumn, my family always buys 150kg of Roma tomatoes off Ironstone Valley Orchards or Patchwork Farm or Margaret River Market Garden to make passata to store all year round. We always infuse it with homegrown basil.

OR

750 ml of bought passata + you will need fresh basil then also.

METHOD

1. On your stove top, heat up your oven proof chef pan or your slow cooking pan, then add your olive oil;
2. Turn your oven onto 160C;
3. Brown your lamb shanks;
4. Add you onion to the pan and saute` them down;
5. Add your crushed garlic, chopped celery and diced beetroot (not too big- smaller pieces better), Traditionally one would use carrots, but when you cannot get local carrots, beetroot are a wonderful substitute!
6. Cook the mixture down on medium – high heat for about 10 minutes, stir constantly to make sure it caramelises but doesn’t burn.
7. Add the wine and let the alcohol simmer away for 5 minutes.
8. Add your fresh bay leaves and chopped fresh oregano;
9. Add your tomato passata, mix through; (If bought passata, add a cup of broken up basil leaves (basil can be got from Oasis Hydroponics);
10. Put the pan’s lid on and let simmer for 5 minutes more on the stove top, then transfer to the oven;
11. Cook in the oven for 2 and half hours approximately or until the meat is falling off the bone;
12. Check the pot every hour or so to make sure there is enough liquid (if drying out add a little water or chicken stock)
13. Season to taste when the meat is perfectly tender. You can serve the whole shank or strip the meat from the bone and it is awesome served with some fresh pasta (La Scarpetta or MR Fine Foods – Romano) – your favourite style or even gnocchi (Pick & Gather). I also like to serve with a hard cheese; you can use Cambray Manchego for a local option or you may just have to have one non local ingredient parmesan! Serve it up with lots of sauce including the delicious soft tasty vegetables.
14. This dish is also awesome served with a bitter greens salad such as fresh rocket, olive oil and a dash of lime juice or balsamic – all can be sourced at our Margaret River Farmers’ Market. I served it with home grown broccolini that was seared very quickly in homemade garlic butter and a dash of olive oil.

Serves 2

ENJOY!!!