Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks
- Olive oil, for frying
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 x 750ml Shiraz
- 500ml chicken stock
- Mint leaves
FOR THE MARINADE
- 1–2 green chillies, deseeded and sliced, to taste
- 1–2 red chillies, deseeded and sliced, to taste
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cinnamon sticks, snapped in half
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped and crushed
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. First prepare the marinade. Mix the marinade ingredients together Rub the mixture into the lamb so that it is well flavoured. Leave the marinaded lamb in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
3. Heat a large casserole dish with some olive oil. Brown the lamb in it for about 6 minutes until coloured on all sides, then add the chillies and cinnamon from the marinade.
4. Add the carrots, onion and bay leaves to the casserole and brown for a minute or two. Lift the lamb so that it is resting on top of the onions and carrots. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, bring to the boil and cook for 7–8 minutes to reduce the liquid by half. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then transfer, uncovered, to the preheated oven. Cook for 3 hours until the sauce is reduced. (If the tops of the shanks look like they might be drying out, just baste and occasionally turn them.)
5. Remove the cooked meat from the oven and serve garnished with torn mint leaves, rice and the cooking juices spooned on top.