Braised Lamb Shanks

Total Time: 4 hrs 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 750 g natural yoghurt (greek)
• 4 lamb shanks (trimmed or frenched)
• salt, freshly ground
• fresh ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 shallots (french, peeled, thinly sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (whole, peeled)
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 1 lemon rind (peeled into strips and halved)
• 5 beads mastic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 -3 tablespoons virgin olive oil (extra virgin olive oil)
• 4 -8 sprigs parsley (flat leaf to serve)

Recipe

• 1 spoon the yoghurt into a fine meshed sieve and place over a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight to allow esxcess liquid to drain from the yoghurt.
• 2 preheat oven to 165c conventional or 140c fan forced.
• 3 heat a large deep ovenproof frying pan over high heat until hot.
• 4 seaon shanks well with salt and pepper,.
• 5 cover the base of the pan with oil and cook shanks in two batches for 5 minutes, turning until golden all over.
• 6 retrn all shanks to the pan and deglaze the pan wih the wine.
• 7 pour in the chicken stock and then remove the pan from the heat.
• 8 spoon the yoghurt over the lamb to cover.
• 9 scatter over the shallots, garlic, thyme, lemon rind, mastic and drizzle with honey.
• 10 place a cartouche (round of baking paper) onto the surface of the lamb and cover with a tight fitting lid.
• 11 transfer to the oven and cook for 4 hours.
• 12 remove the lid, cartouche and sprigs of thyme.
• 13 carefully transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter and spoon over some of the thick yoghurt on top.
• 14 strain the juices into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• 15 squeeze in the juice from half a lemon.
• 16 remove from the heat, insert a stick blender into the sauce and while blending add 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin oil.
• 17 taste and season with salt and pepper.
• 18 pour the sauce over the lamb, scatter with parsley and serve.