Braised Lamb Shanks with Mirpoix Gravy and Apple-Pomme Puree

Lamb Shanks are a great hearty fall dish. When it comes to lamb, they are quite a bit cheaper then the rest of the cuts, but require slow cooking for a long period of time to soften them up. When they have been braised long enough, however, they are so tender that the meat will fall right off the bone, so plate carefully!
For the apple-pomme puree, simply add peeled diced apples to the pot along with your potatoes, cook until tender, and puree with a little cream, salt, and butter. Pears would also go really nicely with this dish.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 Lamb Shanks, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 T. Canola Oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 Carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 Celery Ribs, diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 T. Herbs De Provence(if you can't find these, just use thyme)
• 2 T. Tomato Paste
• 2 c. Dry Red Wine(Cabernet Savignion or Merlot are great for this dish)
• 2 c. Chicken Stock
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cornstarch, to thicken

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sprinkle the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Add the shanks to the pan and brown evenly on all sides. Remove shanks from the pan and place in a crock pot.

In the same pan used to brown the shanks, add the onion, carrot, and celery, adding a little more oil, if needed. Saute the vegetables until they begin to soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs and saute for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste and saute until the vegetables are well coated.

Place the sauteed vegetables on top of the lamb in the crock pot. Pour the wine and chicken broth over the vegetables and lamb and cover with a lid. Cook on high for about 4 hours.

After the lamb has become tender enough to easily pull from the bone, check the seasonings in the gravy and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Mix cornstarch in a small amount of water and stir it into the gravy(stir well so there are no lumps!). Let cook for a few more minutes until thickened. Add more cornstarch mixture if needed until desired thickness is achieved.

Serve the shanks with potatoes and gravy.

Braised Lamb Shanks