Obviously inspired by Robin's recent food letter I did a little research and merged that with what I've learned here about slow cooking and came up with this:
3 lamb shanks (cooking for four and needed some leftovers) - by the way these were from whole foods and were very lean
1 large onion - sliced
3 - 4 garlic cloves - smashed
several thyme sprigs
bunch of basil leaves
1 rosemary branch
1/2 bottle red wine (10 $ chianti tonight)
Olive oil
S&P
2 tbl capers
couple of handfuls of raisins
1 quart home-canned tomatoes from the summer (with juice)
1 large tbl tomato paste
2 strips bacon - chopped
2 carrots chopped into large pieces
1 celery stalk chopped into large pieces
1 cup or 2 of good homemade chicken or beef stock
Pre-heat the oven to 325 Deg F.
S&P the lamb shanks and brown them in a little olive oil in a Dutch Oven. While they are browning, in a separate pan, saute the onions until translucent in a tbl Olive oil or so. Add the garlic, continue to cook until fragrant. Make a bouquet garni out of the herbs and add to the onions. Add the carrots and celery and cook until the meat is browned.
Remove the lamb shanks to a plate when browned. Add the bacon to the Dutch Oven and fry until crisp. Add the canned tomatoes and juice and boil until very thick. Add the red wine and cook until reduced by 1/2. Add the onions/veggies/herbs, tomato paste, capers and raisins. Add the lamb shanks. Add enough stock to come up to about 1/2 way on the lamb shanks. Bring to a boil, cover and put into the oven. At about 1 hour, turn the shanks over and add stock if needed. At another 1 hour take the top off. At another 1/2 hour (2 1/2 hours total) remove shanks, boil sauce until thick as you want it. Cut the meat from the bones. Serve over polenta with plenty of sauce. We had some roasted kale with it too. This is definitely a serve to company dish. Served with 1999 Leoville Poyferre. Mmmmmmmmm
Thanks for the inspiration Robin!!!!