Chef Lolli's Slow Roasted Lamb Shank

LAMB SHANKS 1 portion (multiply to amount of people eating)

INGREDIENTS

1 small to medium lamb shank
1 leek, cut into chunks
100ml oil
50g celery root, cut into chunks
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot, cut into chunks
Handful of mixed rosemary, bay, and thyme
1 onion, cut into chunks

Sauce:
1 small onion
15 ml finely chopped fresh mixed herbs,
1 small celery stick, chopped
Tarragon, parsley and basil
50g butter
Lemon juice to taste
60 ml red wine
2 – 3 ml honey

METHOD

Remove excess fat from the lamb and trim the meat away to expose a length of bone. Reserve the meat trimmings.
Heat oil in a roasting pan.
Season the shank and add to the pan with the vegetables. Brown the shank.
Immediately after browning, blanch the meat in boiling salted water for 1 - 2 minutes. “Blanching” helps the meat to retract around the bone and keep it intact during cooking.
Drain and put in a clean pan with the vegetables, garlic and herbs, along with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, simmer gently for about 1½ hours, until the meat is almost falling off the bone.
Remove the shank from the stock and keep warm.
Reserve the stock.

Sauce:
Preheat oven to 180 °C. Sweat the vegetables without browning them.
Add reserved lamb trimmings and the mixed herbs, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes more.
Pour in the red wine and reduce by half.
Add the reserved lamb stock and reduce again by half.
Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk these in, a few at a time.
Season to taste and strain through a fine sieve.
Pour half of this sauce into a roasting pan.
Stir in lemon juice and honey.
Add the shank and coat with this glaze.
Cook in oven for about 20 minutes, removing every 5 minutes to baste.