[kathy31]

Braished Lamb Shanks

Ok this is a winner if you wanna impress that wicked, amazing, super dooper person in your life ;o)

Serves 2 ( romantic or what?)

2 lamb shanks
4 medium ripe tomatoes
1 large stick celery
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped. ( I prefer squashed under a heavy blade)
1 large onion, peeled and cut into eights through the root ( seriously though I just chop it)
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into ( attractive slices) hehe
A good glass of red wine
1 bay leaf
2 T rosemary ( its quite cool if you get it fresh and do it in the mortar) but I have been known to just use the woolworth stuff
Salt and Pepper ( freshly ground is nice, but salt is salt!)

Ok , now boil the jug and put your tomatoes in a bowl with the boiling water covering them, leave them for about a minute, then take them out and the skins should slip off real easy.....
After that chop them up, next chop your celery into 2 inch slices ( or whatever you prefer)
Ok, now jam the oven onto 140C, if you are lucky enuf to have gas do it for 1,275F....

Ok so you sorted?

Right, now you have to heat the olive oil in a casserole dish (keep the heat quite high) then, season your lamb shanks with your salt and pepper, whack the lamb into the hot oil and sear the meat till you have a nice browning overall ( make sure you dont over cook it otherwise it will be tough as buggery)
Ok when they are nicely browned, remove them from the heat and put on a plate aside... ( the reason that you do this is to trap the juices within the meat)
Ok, in the same dish you have been browning the lamb, you add the celery, onion and carrots till they get a nice caramel coating, turning and tossing them for about 6 minutes, Then stir in the garlic and cook for another minute...
Next add your chopped fresh tomatoes, wine, bay leaf rosemary, and a bit more salt and pepper....

We all good?

Now put the lamb shanks on top of your lovely tossed veges and when it all starts to simmer, whack it in the oven, covered with a lid,( or tin foil if ya dont have one) and leave it for 3 hours to oven braise slowly..

I always serve this with rosemary on the top and garlic potatoe bake...

The great thing is I can do this in my lunch hour if I keep it on very low, have enough time to do the girly make up thing, and still be impressive VOILA