Lamb Shanks with Mint Gremolata

These shanks fall off the bone and infuse your tastebuds with delicious flavour. 

2T Olive oil
4 lamb shanks

sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into thick batons
2 medium sticks celery, thinly sliced
1 cloves garlic, crushed
½ t ground allspice
2 t dried oregano
zest and juice of 1 lemon
half a large butternut cut into chunks
½ cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 x 400 gram tin crushed Italian tomatoes
1/3 cup packed mint leaves

Gremolata

1/3 cup chopped mint
2T finely chopped parsley
1T olive oil
1T lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 150˚C.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole. Season the shanks and brown on all sides then transfer to a plate. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan, season and cook until tender and lightly golden. Add the garlic, allspice, oregano, lemon zest and juice and butternut. Stir in the wine and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Add the shanks back to the pan with any meat juices. Cover with a piece of baking paper then cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 2 hours, turning the shanks halfway through until the meat is very tender and will easily pull away from the bone.

To make the gremolata, place the mint, parsley. olive oil and lemon zest in a small blender until combined.

Transfer the lamb shanks and potatoes to a serving platter and cover to keep warm. If the pan juices are thin, boil over a medium heat and reduce until it is the consistency of gravy. Spoon the sauce over the lamb and top with the gremolata.