Guest recipe by Emberz executive chef Simon Henry

Serves 4

Ingredients

Lamb shanks

4 Blue Sky Butchery lamb hind shanks
10ml canola oil
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, cut into thick batons or sticks
2 medium sticks celery, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t dried oregano
Juice and zest strips of 1 lemon
1 t ground allspice
4 anchovies, chopped
4 medium waxy potatoes, cut into large chunks
½ c white wine
1 c chicken stock
400g tin diced tomatoes

Gremolata

1/3 c packed mint leaves
1 clove garlic, crushed
Zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Season the lamb hind shanks with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish or large frying pan and seal the shanks browning and caramelizing on all sides. Transfer when finished to a plate.
2. Add the onions, carrots and the celery to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the crushed garlic, allspice, oregano, anchovies, lemon zest and juice and potatoes, then stir in the wine, add the stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil for 2 minutes. Add the shanks back to the pan with any meat juices.
3. Cover the lamb dish with baking paper then cover tightly with a lid or tin foil. Braise for 2 hours, turning the shanks halfway through until the lamb hind shanks are very tender. Uncover and cook for a further 30 minutes to reduce the sauce liquids. When the sauce is reduced, tilt the pan to one side and using a spoon skin off any excess oil from the surface of the sauce.
4. For the gremolata, put the mint, garlic and lemon zest on a board and chop together.
5. Place the shanks and potatoes on a serving platter and pour over the sauce. Top the lamb with the gremolata.