2 hrs 55 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
Baking the meat in foil parcels ensures these lamb shanks are beautifully juicy and tender.
Ingredients
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
100g unsalted butter (cold)
a few sprigs of fresh sage
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 large carrots
1 onion
1 leek
4 quality lamb shanks, crown- or French-trimmed
12 cloves of garlic
olive oil
2 wineglasses of white wine
Top Tip
These are really good served with creamy mashed potato and steamed greens to contrast with the roasting stickiness of the lamb.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Pick the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary into a food processor, add the butter, most of the sage and strip in the thyme. Season with sea salt and black pepper, then whiz together.
- Peel and finely slice the carrots and onion, then halve, wash and finely slice the leeks.
- Using a small knife, take one of the lamb shanks and cut between the meat and the bone from the base of the shank upwards. You want to create a hole big enough to put your finger in, making a sort of pocket. Do this to all the shanks and divide the flavoured butter between them, pushing it into the pockets – this will give a wonderful flavour to the heart of the shanks.
- Tear off four arm-length pieces of tin foil and fold each in half to give you four A3-sized pieces of foil.
- Divide the unpeeled garlic and veg between them, making a pile in the middle of each square. Rub the lamb shanks with oil and season with salt and pepper, then put one on top of each pile of veg, with a sprig of rosemary and a few sage leaves.
- Carefully pull up the sides of the foil and pour a swig of wine into each. Gather the foil around the bones, pinching together tightly (any excess foil can be torn or cut off with scissors).
- Place the foil parcels on a baking tray with the bones facing up, then roast for 2½ hours, or until the meat is meltingly tender. Serve the parcels in the middle of the table so that your guests can open them up themselves.
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