Festivity Recipe: Lamb Shanks With Creamy Polenta

A delicious dish for your Holy celebrations!

Amid the Easter celebrations, food takes the centerstage, bringing families and traditions together. I hope this recipe will be your centrepiece.

This year I will cook lamb shanks served with creamy polenta and roasted carrots.

We will have this meal with a glass of an amazing young wine “BadFriend” or “Akuyu” 2024 Merlot-Malbec, a beautiful present given to me by the wine maker. This wine is produced in Donnybrook, a small town only half hour South of Perth. It is a young wine, full of body with a hint of vanilla.

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons plain flour
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 Lamb shanks
• 1 brown onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 medium size carrots, coarsely crushed
• 4 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
• 350ml red wine
• 350ml beef stock
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 2 strips orange peel
• 4 tablespoons orange marmalade

Orange-rosemary Gremolata

Ingredients

• 1 orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (if you don’t like garlic don’t use it)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary

Method

• Preheat oven to 160C or use the slow cooker and follow the instructions.
• Place the flour on a large plate. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Dip the lamb shanks in the flour and turn to lightly coat.

• Heat 4 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large casserole or pan over medium-heat. Add the lamb and cook, turning until browned all over. Transfer to a plate.

• Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook stirring until the onion softens.

• Return the lamb to the pan.
• Add the wine and the stock and bring to the boil.

• Stir the tomato, rosemary, orange peel and orange marmalade into the lamb mixture.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• Cover and bake for 3 hours, stirring occasionally, or until the lamb is falling off the bone.
• To make the orange-rosemary gremolata, combine the orange zest, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, pine nuts and rosemary in a small bowl.

• Serve the lamb shanks on a big dish and sprinkle the gremolata on top. Or divide the lamb shanks among serving bowls and sprinkle them with the gremolata. One lamb shank per person is enough.

Tips

• I also love to serve this dish with buttery mashed potatoes.
• Cooking the lamb slowly means that the meat will melt away in your mouth.