It IS winter here and these lamb shanks were fit for a king. We ate them instead. I cooked them with tinned tomatoes and other things I had on hand and they turned out quite delectable.
Sorry it’s been too many days since I posted but I’ve been suffering with nasty vertigo. One minute I’m fine and then the next I’m holding my head in my hands to stop the world from spinning. The doctor asked if I’d had it before and what was the outcome and I said it was benign positional vertigo and she said, “well, Maureen, you’ve got it again, take it easy, it will pass.” That was 10 days ago. I’m past my patience limit.
Enough about me and back to these delicious lamb shanks.
The lamb does a lot of walking on those shanks so it’s definitely slow cooking and nothing better than the crock pot. Remove the sinew from the shanks because it gets all twisted up and looks dumb or get your butcher to do it for you. Most will do it with a smile. (some will do it but not smile but you’ll have the same result)
Slice an onion or use some baby pickling onions like I did and toss them in the pot. They’ll ooze their oniony goodness into the tomato sauce and be yummy. Then place the lamb shanks on top of the onions along with a few pieces of green pepper (capsicum), big pieces of carrot, several cloves of garlic (unpeeled), a bay leaf, tomato paste and two cans of chopped up roma tomatoes. Add a slosh of red wine, salt and a good grind of fresh black pepper and that’s it. Leave that baby alone for 6 to 8 hours on low.
Just before serving spoon off the fat so you’ll have a nice sauce and serve over garlic mashed potatoes.
To roast garlic, slice the top off the garlic so you expose the garlic cloves, brush with olive oil and sprinking with sea salt and then wrap in oiled tinfoil and bake for about 45 minutes until the cloves are caramel colored and pop out easily.
Your whole house will smell fantastic when you cook this dish.
To make the potatoes I cooked them in salted water and then drained and put them through the potato ricer, added butter and the mashed roasted garlic, salt, pepper and hot cream. I didn’t have any parsley but usually I’d add chopped parsley as well.
These potatoes go so well with the lamb shanks and the entire meal is remarkably little effort.
Here’s the recipe:
- 4 lamb shanks
- 1 onion sliced or several pickling onions
- 6 cloves garlic unpeeled
- 2 tins roma tomatoes chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 carrots roughly chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 potatoes
- 1 head of garlic for roasting
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup cream
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- Place onions on bottom of slow cooker and place lamb shanks on top
- Add all other ingredients
- Stir to combine
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours
- Slice top off garlic, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and wrap in tin foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350F/180C - cool.
- Peel and slice potatoes and place in saucepan of water
- Add salt and cook til tender
- Drain potatoes
- Put potatoes through ricer (or mash)
- Add butter in small pieces
- Heat cream and add to potatoes
- Squeeze out garlic into a bowl and lightly mash and then add to potatoes
- Toss in chopped parsley
- Mix well and season with salt and pepper
- Place mashed potatoes on a plate and top with lamb shank and pour sauce over it.
Lamb shanks are awesome, they are great slow roasted as well. Unfortunately its not easily available where I live. All lambs have shanks but I don’t know where they disappear.
This looks lip smackin’ good! I hope you feel better soon.
Your dish looks irresistible and reminds me of the bad experience I had when trying to roast a lamb shank… Next time I shall slow cook it.
Excellent idea to serve them with garlic mashed potatoes!
I’m simply drooling over this lamb, so saucy and yummy.
This looks so good, love roasting garlic dear!
this is a great lamb.. this is what makes lamb great – sauce and spices.. yum yum
I am amazed by the clarity of your photos, even taking into account my screen’s exceptional resolution.
What did you take the photos with? What camera is it or, if its a phone camera, then it is even more amazing and I need to get me one of whatever it is you used to take the photos.
Dear Maureen, I hope that your vertigo is better. I am sorry that you don’t feel well. I will keep you in my prayers to get better in a jiffy!
As for the lamb shanks that is one of my most favorite!! meals. Lamb is quite expensive here and it is a treat when I buy it. My mom used to make them when I was a kid so I could practically taste that beautiful dish you prepared. She would make them just about the same way you did. Perfection!! As you can tell you have sparked my senses with your post and brought back beautiful days. Feel better my dear friend and blessings, Catherine xo
Hey man, I’m certainly no expert but that sounds like low blood pressure to me. I get it all the time 🙁
Awesome dish…wish it got below 70 degrees here!
Feel better…and these shanks look delish-I’d eat these all-year-round:)
Maureen I had a mild case of vertigo myself and it went better after the doctor injected me a dose of calcium. I remember vividly it was terrible, I couldn’t sit up at all.
Your lamb is amazing but here in my country I can’t find lamb, just mutton and I suppose it’s not the same thing.
This sounds like such a great lamb recipe. So warm and comforting!
I don’t cook lamb very often but this looks spectacular. I caught myself just before I licked my computer screen. This recipe is a “must try” for me. I hope you feel better soon. There is nothing worse than being dizzy. Take care of yourself! <3
Gorgeous! I will file that one away for a Very Cold Day:) Love braising–brings out so much flavor and lip-smacking gelatin-y goodness!
So sorry you’re all vertigo-y:( I hope it passes soon and that your world stops spinning!
this looks delicious! and garlic mashed potatoes is always a winner. i love to roast the garlic in olive oil and then mash them into the potatoes just like you! btw, love the step by step pictures here :).
I hope you feel better soon Maureen! That is no good at all! 🙁 These lamb shanks look marvellous and so rich in flavour 🙂
My husband so wants me to do this! He loves lamb and loves the idea of slow cooking it. I must try it when it gets colder here. Right now we are looking at a high temp today of 100- but bookmarking it for later for sure. Great photo
This sounds like a great winter meal, and garlic mashed potatoes are the best! Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Looks just wonderful. I don’t have a slow cooker, but could adjust that no problem. I love the recipe. All these winter recipes are making me long for cooler weather.
This sounds so delicious. I can’t wait until it’s winter time here so I can make this 🙂
Wow! Look at that lamb dish. Looks so comforting and bursting with flavour – and with roasted garlic? Our favourite! Can just imagine the gorgeous smells going all around your house. So sorry to hear you’re not yourself just now. Take it easy and hope you get back to normal soon, as it sounds horrible. I understand completely when you talk about losing your patience!
Now see, you are making me super hungry here and I am seriously craving for Lamb.. only wish there was some at home!
So sorry to hear about your vertigo (no fun), but your “camera eye” is spot on — simply wonderful photos. (Writing, too!) I love knowing that it’s winter there — makes it feel cooler HERE!
Hmmm, it’s the middle of Summer here (and hot as H-E double touthpicks!)and I still want to make this dish! I won’t be able to wait til Fall/Winter. Yummmy!
cooking slow makes the taste really fantastic the texture of the meat is really awesome.
It is not winter, it is summer silly….jk LOL:-) These look like a perfect comfort food. I adore roasted garlic, I agree it makes the house smell AMAZING!!!
Hugs, Terra
oh yeah baby – bring these on INSTANTLY!
Miss T xx
This dish is to die for… perfect for this cold weather we are having “down here”! And thanks sooo much for posting such a delicious recipe for garlic mashed potatoes! I love them and always have them as a side when we eat out, but have never made them at home!
wow! i just posted a lamb recipe too, but your’s looks much better. wanna trade? 😉
sorry about the vertigo this looks wonderful love lamb and cool spuds
Normally I don’t eat lamb because of the certain smell and taste, but this looks REALLY delicious. Cooking lamb with tomatoes is a brilliant idea that I didn’t think of! I love this recipe!
yum!! these look so great!!
hope your vertigo goes away soon.
Oh I hope you feel better.
I have discovered the use of lamb a few months ago only because I had a gig to develop lamb recipes for a client. It took me awhile to do so since i never had the chance to cook the meat but now I simply love it… the flavor, the tenderness ahhh it’s just great and this post will be bookmarked as I don’t have much lamb recipes in mind.
thanks for sharing!
Malou
i’m drooling at all your recent recipes!! def lots of winter comfort food…hmmm.
i made some shanks recently too similar to yours…however i wasnt so smart in removing the sinews and so the shanks did get ugly and twisted ><
hope u feel better soon from vertigo! yikes!
Lamb is so versitile and braising a great technique. GREG
Hey! Thanks for your comment 🙂 This looks amazing! To be fair it’s pretty much winter int he UK here with the weather we’re getting, I’d love a bit of this lamb!
For a second I totally forgot you were in Australia and I was thinking, ‘winter?!’ I actually visited Australia two years ago at exactly this time of year and it was absolutely beautiful in July!
I often forget that America isn’t the entire world and was surpised to discover it’s not summer there in Australia like it is here. 🙂 We’re suffering in 110 degree F (43 celcius) temps while you’re shivering with your glorious hot dish of lamb shanks. BTW, I once had vertigo too and it is the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life. Does it make you nauseous? I was constantly throwing up. Mine was caused by a virus and took about a month to completely clear up but thankfully it has never returned. What is benign positional vertigo caused by?
This dish looks soooo good! Perfect for this weather. I can totally curl up in on a couch and eat a big bowl of this 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Oh Maureen, how uncomfortable! Hope your head stops spinning soon!
This lamb is wonderful comfort food. I normally cook shanks for about 3 hours but I’m going to try your longer cooking time. Also getting the potato ricer out of retirement. That mash looks divine.
I hope you feel better soon. Bookmarking this recipe to try when the weather turns cooler.
OMG! I wish it was winter here! well, maybe not, but I’m definitely saving this one for a cool day. I was looking for a good lamb shank recipe and this looks delicious!
Yummy! I love lamb shanks. This recipe looks scrumptious. I may just have to try this even though its summer on my side of the world.
I am saving this recipe for our winter this year…
Love lamb shanks. Your recipe is similar to mine. Except yours seems to have more tomatoes. This recipe has a lovely color. I will try this soon.
I did not know you were posting recipes while you had your vertigo attacks. How ever did you do it????
Roberta, I wasn’t 100% incapacitated. It came and went. If I got dizzy I’d hold my head and go to bed until it passed, then get up and start again. I had made the lamb shanks earlier and hadn’t posted them yet. 🙂