Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks

I am not a fan of lamb but when you have friends over for dinner, you cook what the guests like not what you like ! Well, I did cook what I like but I'll start with the lamb shanks first.

The dinner was on Friday night & I had a cook-out session at a friend's house on Thursday, Friday was my girls' sports day so I had to cook these lamb shanks on Wednesday, let them cool down & into the fridge they went, so the flavour could develop.

Ingredients :
Serves 4

1/2 Cup Flour
Salt & pepper, to taste
4 Lamb shanks
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Large onions, sliced
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 Cup Beef consomme
3/8 Cup red wine
2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 180C. Place flour, salt & pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly coat shanks with flour. Heat oil in a saucepan over high heat, cook shanks for 3-4 mins or until browned, transfer to a large roasting pan.

Add onions & garlic to saucpan, cook over medium heat for 2-3 mins or until soft. Add consomme, wine & maple syrup, stir ro combine & bring to boil. Season with salt & pepper, pour over shanks & cover pan tightly with foil. Roast for 1 1/4 hrs, remove foil, turn shanks & roast for another 45 mins or until tender.

Transfer shanks to a platter, cover to keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve & discard onions. Return liquid to pan. Mix cornflour with water in a bowl until smooth, stir into liquid & bring to boil, stirring, over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low & simmer for 5 mins or until reduced slightly. Serve shanks with gravy.

* I didn't strain the cooking liquid & kept the onions so the gravy will be chunky & more flavourful with the onions in it.