Aromatic Braised Lamb Shanks

A winning recipe for a Sunday lunch or impromptu dinner party, these lamb shanks are so tender, you can cut them with a spoon.

Lamb shanks need slow and long cooking to tenderise the meat. The flavour of the Young’s London Gold beer and its natural ingredients combined with gentle and warming spices makes this an exceptionally tasty dish with a tang.

Serves 4

• 4 lamb shanks
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
• 3 cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 bottle Young’s London Gold
• 400 g can chopped tomatoes
• 400g can chickpeas, drained

Heat the oven to 170C/150Cfan/gas 3 Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the lamb shanks to the pan and turn and cook them over a medium heat for 10 minutes until browned.  Transfer them to a large casserole.

Put the onion into the frying pan and cook gently for 5 minutes to soften.  Add the garlic and carrots and cook 2 minutes, then add the ginger and spices, stir together for 1 minute.  Stir in the tomato puree, the London Gold beer and the canned tomatoes.  Bring to simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Pour over the lamb shanks and adjust so the meat part is mainly covered with the sauce. Cover and place in the oven, cook for 2 hours. Turn the lamb shanks over and add and add the chickpeas.  Cover and return to the oven for a further 45 minutes- 1 hour, or until the lamb is very tender. 

 Lift each lamb portion onto a plate, skim off any fat from the surface of the sauce, then season if needed, and stir before spooning over the lamb.

Serve with rice or boiled or mashed potatoes.