Braised lamb shanks with tomato passata, parsnip-potato mash & salsa verde

This has to be the ultimate weekend meal, one to linger over with family and friends. Once the dish is in the oven, the house will start to fill with its gorgeous aroma. And you'll have hours to spend doing whatever it is you love (or have to) do on the weekend while the meal cooks. This is a rich and comforting dish, its savoury goodness lifted by the bright flavours of the salsa verde.

Prep time: 20 mins 

Cooking time: 3 hrs  

Serves 4 

Ingredients 

• 2 lamb shanks  
• 1 brown onion 
• 3 cloves of garlic 
• 2 bay leaves  
• 2 tbsp Italian spice mix 
• ½ bunch of basil, roughly torn 
• 1L (4 ¼ cups) chicken stock 
• 500g Imperfect parsnips 
• 500g Imperfect potatoes 
• 5 Tbsp Re-purposeful Salsa Verde  

Pantry 

• Rosto olive oil 
• 125ml (½ cup) milk  
• 100g butter  
• 1 tsp sugar 
• salt & black pepper 
• ¼ tsp white pepper 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.  
2. Finely dice the onion and chop the garlic. Set aside. On the stove, bring a deep, heavy-bottomed pot to a high heat, drizzle olive oil and sear shanks for 2-3 minutes a side until golden brown. Remove from pot and set aside. 
3. Lower the heat, and in the same pot sauté the onion and garlic until soft and golden. Add bay leaves and passata. Season with sugar, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Italian spice mix. Stir and bring to the boil. 
4. Add chicken stock and half of the basil to the pot. Bring to the boil again. Place the shanks into pot, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hours. 
5. Lower the heat, and in the same pot sauté the onion and garlic until soft and golden. Add bay leaves and passata. Season with sugar, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Italian spice mix. Stir and bring to the boil. 
6. Add chicken stock and half of the basil to the pot. Bring to the boil again. Place the shanks into pot, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hours. 
7. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and parsnips. Cut them into similar size pieces, place them in a pot with salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 30 minutes or until soft.  Drain well and keep in a colander.  
8. Turn the heat down, add milk and butter to the pan and stir until melted and combined. Return the potatoes to the pan, stir through the mixture and then mash until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Set aside and keep warm. 
9. Remove lamb from the oven and carefully discard any excess oils from the sauce.  

Serve lamb shanks on the mash. Top with the braising sauce and a dollop of Salsa Verde. 

Tips and leftovers: 

• Cook the mash potato 40 minutes before serving the lamb. 
• If parsnips aren't available replace with equal weight of potatoes.
• Save leftover Italian spice mix for sauces, dressings or marinades. 
• Cook shanks uncovered for an extra ½ hour for more colour or if you want a thicker sauce. 

Don't have much time? You can order this recipe as a Ready to Cook meal kit from our Value with Values range here.

Lamb shanks from our Proper Meat range, Harris Farm Passata sauce and Harris Farm Hero Salsa Verde are all part of our Value with Values range.