Braised Lamb Shanks on Crushed Potatoes with Rosemary Gremolata

  Serves 4

Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
Salt and pepper, to season
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 leek, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, whole
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
300 ml red wine
4 cloves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1L chicken stock
1L beef stock

Rosemary gremolata:
20 g fresh rosemary, finely chopped
10 g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon, rind and juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
30 ml extra virgin olive oil

Crushed potatoes:
1 kg baby chat potatoes
2 sprigs rosemary
2 garlic cloves, whole

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Heat up a casserole and sear the meat on all sides. Remove the lamb and set aside. Add in the chopped vegetables and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are evenly browned.
3. Add tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme in a large oven-proof pot. Cook for 2 minutes before deglazing with red wine. Reduce wine by half, then the spices. Pour in both the stocks and return the shanks to the pot. Bring it up to a boil.
4. Remove from stove, cover the pot and braise in oven for 2 to 3 hours or until the shanks are tender.
5. Remove the shanks from the pot and set aside. Strain the stock and return it to the pot; discard the solids. Reduce the stock over medium flame until you get a thick coating consistency. Return lamb shanks to the pot and keep warm.
6. For the gremolata, mix all the ingredients together and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
7. For the crushed potatoes, boil potatoes with rosemary and garlic until just tender. Drain the potatoes, then toss them in a hot pan with a dash of olive oil. Crush potatoes with the back of a fork and cook until golden brown. Season to taste.
8. Serve the lamb shanks on top of the crushed potatoes and spoon the rosemary gremolata over the top.