Recipes from Bosmans
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 lamb shanks (approximately 450 g to 500 g each)
50 g Pancetta (Italian bacon)
50 g fine green beans
400 g large potatoes
5 g chopped Italian parsley
200 g carrots
100 g celery
100 g celeriac
1 clove of garlic
1 large white onion
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tblsp tomato paste
1 bottle of red wine
1 bottle of red port wine
2½ l lamb stock
150 ml sunflower oil
100 g flour
200 g salted butter
Salt & pepper
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Method
Use a pot which is suitable for use both in the oven and on the stove top. Heat 100 ml of sunflower oil in the pot. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and coat them lightly with flour. Sear the lamb shanks in the pot until they are golden brown. Remove them and place to one side.
Chop the carrots, celery, celeriac, garlic and onions into cubes and add them to the pot. Caramelise the vegetables until they are golden brown. Add one tablespoon of butter, as well as the bottle of red wine and the port wine to the pot. Allow the mixture to cook for five minutes before adding the lamb shanks. Cover the pot with tinfoil and place it in the oven at 180 °C for 1½ hours. Remove the foil and turn the lamb shanks in the liquid every 30 minutes. Continue cooking the lamb shanks until the meat falls off the bone.
Remove the meat from the sauce, cover it with a wet cloth and keep it warm to one side. Strain the sauce through a sieve. Season and reduce it to your preference. Remove the bone and sinews from the meat and place the meat back into the sauce.
Bring water and salt to boil in a separate pot. Blanch the beans until they are al dente (cooked, but still firm) and then place them directly into iced water. Remove the beans and let them drain on a kitchen towel. Bring more salted water to the boil. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Boil the potatoes until they are soft, and then strain them through a sieve. Add one tablespoon of chopped parsley and salted butter and “crush” everything into rough pieces with a fork. Season the potatoes to your preference with salt, pepper and a little olive oil, and keep them warm to one side. Glaze the green beans in butter and season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste.
Plating
Place the crushed potatoes in a ring just to the side of the centre of the plate, with the braised lamb shank in the centre. Gently drizzle the sauce around and over the meat and potatoes. Place the glazed green beans on top, along with two slices of Pancetta.
Tip
You can substitute veal shanks for lamb shanks. You can also prepare this dish in advance and keep it in the fridge (for a maximum of five days).
