Mat's Recipe Of The Week

Red wine and garlic slow-cooked lamb shanks. Potato, pear and mint puree.

Serves 4

Olive oil 50g plain flour Salt & pepper 4 lamb shanks 1 chopped brown onion 2 crushed garlic cloves 1 bunch thyme 16 mushrooms 1/3 bottle red wine 700ml bottle passata

3 Bartlett pears 3 large creme royal potatoes 1 bunch finely chopped mint Room temperature butter Salt & pepper

Heat 70ml oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Mix flour with salt and pepper then roll the shanks in mixture to coat. Add shanks to the pan and brown on all sides for 5 minutes. Remove shanks and set aside. Lower heat and add onion, garlic and carrots until softened slightly.
Increase heat to high and add wine to pan for 2 minutes. Mix in passata and bring to a simmer. Add shanks, thyme and mushrooms. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 90 minutes until lamb is almost falling off the bone. Remove lamb and mushrooms and heat remaining liquid on high heat until remaining sauce thickens. Season to taste.
Peal pears and potatoes and cut into even size pieces. Add to separate pots of cold salted water (as cooking times will be different). Cover and bring both to the boil until softened the whole way through. About 8 minutes for the potatoes, 6 minutes for the pears. This will vary depending on the size of the pieces. Test with a skewer. Strain together in a colander. Heat one of the pans briefly until all remaining water has evaporated and return potato and pear pieces to the pan to cook off excess moisture for 30 seconds, shaking constantly. Add mint. Add butter gradually and mash through until a puree consistency is achieved. Taste and season if required.
Serve puree along side shank and mushrooms and cover with thickened sauce. And a delicious glass from the selection below!

Enjoy it with these perfectly matched wines