Everyone's talking about Lamb Shanks!

Now I don't know whether it's the cold climate that prevails at the moment but the topic of conversation in our staffroom seems to be comfort food!  More precisely casseroles and slow cookers.  So before I throw myself into the usual Saturday morning chaos that is teenagers, D.I.Y.er's, shopping and cooking I thought I'd share our favorite Slow cooked Lamb Shanks in Red Wine recipe.  I love this not only for it's tenderness and rich gravy, but because it can be quickly prepared early on and then left to it's own devices until you want to eat it!

Before you go to bed take 1  red onion, chopped.  1 large garlic clove, crushed.  Mix with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tspn each  ground paprika, rosemary and thyme.  Take 2 Lamb Shanks and stab them all over (very therapeutic if you've had a bad day!) then put them in the bowl with oil/vinegar mix. Massage well, cover with cling film, put in the fridge and go to bed!

On waking flick on the slow cooker to heat up.  Sear the lamb shanks in a hot pan on all sides and put in the slow cooker.  Saute the rest of the marinade for a minute then add a good size glass of red wine.  Next add a pint of lamb stock made with 1 stock cube and boiling water.  Pour this over the shanks, add more water if necessary to cover them. Put the lid on and leave for six hours or longer.

Now go enjoy your day knowing that later on when you're hungry you only have to throw some veg in a pan for 15-20 minutes.  If, like me, you like a thicker gravy remove the lamb from the pot and put in a warm oven, pour the gravy into a pan and thicken with a little cornflour.  Be sure to bring to the boil for two minutes to ensure the cornflour is cooked off.  Serve up pouring gravy all over !