Braised Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

• 1600 g lamb shank (4 lamb shanks)
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 400 g carrots (4 carrots)
• 150 g celery stalks (2 stalks)
• 200 g large onions (3 large onions)
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp tomato paste
• 100 ml red wine
• 900 ml lamb stock
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

1. 1.

   Remove skin and tendons from the lamb shanks with a sharp knife, then rinse and pat dry.

2. 2.

   Lightly crush unpeeled garlic cloves with the blade of a knife.

3. 3.

   Peel, wash, and cut carrots into large pieces.

4. 4.

   Wash celery stalks, remove any stringy parts if needed, finely dice; set aside the celery leaves on a plate.

5. 5.

   Peel onions and roughly cube them. Wash thyme and rosemary and shake dry.

6. 6.

   Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large roasting pan. Sear the shanks all around until browned, then remove from the pan.

7. 7.

   Add garlic, carrots, onions, and celery to the pan and sauté while stirring. Add tomato paste and herb sprigs, cook briefly. Pour in red wine and 100 ml lamb stock; reduce slightly.

8. 8.

   Place shanks on top of the vegetables. Add 400 ml lamb stock and bring to a boil. Transfer the roasting pan to a preheated oven at 175 °C (convection 150 °C; gas: level 2) on the second rack from below, braising for 2–2½ hours, adding remaining stock gradually.

9. 9.

   Remove shanks from the pan, wrap in aluminum foil and keep warm in an off oven. Chop celery leaves.

10. 10.

    Strain the roasting liquid through a sieve into a pot, squeezing out some vegetable juices. Whisk cornstarch with a little water until smooth, then stir to thicken the sauce. Return shanks to the pan, pour over the sauce, and serve garnished with chopped celery leaves.