Serves 4

Supplied Ingredients

4 lamb shanks

2 brown onions

200g Swiss brown mushrooms

2 carrots

4 garlic cloves

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes with basil

1 bunch thyme

5 sebago potatoes

50g grated parmesan

120g mixed salad leaves

Pantry Ingredients

50g (⅓ cup) flour

80ml (⅓ cup) olive oil

40ml (2 tbs) red wine vinegar

40g butter

Equipment

Medium saucepan, flameproof casserole dish, potato masher

Step 1

Prepare Ingredients

Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced. Pat lamb shanks dry with paper towel. In a bowl, combine flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Dust shanks in flour to completely coat, shake to remove excess and set aside. Thinly slice onions, mushrooms and carrots. Crush garlic.

Dusting the lamb shanks in flour and browning them not only imparts a richer flavour to the dish, but also helps to thicken the sauce.

Step 2

Brown Lamb Shanks

Heat ½ the oil in an ovenproof dish over medium-high heat. Add lamb shanks and cook for 5 minutes each side or until caramelised and golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches. You can also use a slow-cooker for this recipe. Set cooker to high or saute function and brown lamb as above. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your cooker.

Step 3

Cook Shanks

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil, onion, mushroom, carrot, garlic, and ½ teaspoon sea salt and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until vegetables have softened. Add tomatoes, red wine vinegar and thyme and 400ml water and bring to a simmer. Return shanks to pan, cover with a lid and transfer to oven for 3 hours or until meat is falling from the bone and sauce has thickened. (If sauce hasn't thickened, remove lid and return to oven for a further 20 minutes.) Turn oven overhead grill on.

If using a slow-cooker, simply add vegetables, salt, tomatoes, vinegar, thyme, water and the lamb to the cooker. Cover with a lid and set on high function for 4 hours or low function for 6 hours or until lamb is falling off the bone. If sauce hasn't thickened, remove lid and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes until reduced slightly.

Step 4

Make Mash

While lamb is cooking, peel and cut potatoes into 3cm cubes and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan with butter. Mash until smooth. Add parmesan, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.

Step 5

Finish Pie

Using two forks, shred lamb meat from bones and mix with sauce, discard bones. Remove thyme stems and discard. Spoon over mash and spread to cover lamb. Place under hot grill for 8–10 minutes or until top is golden brown.

If using a slow cooker, carefully transfer hot pie filling to a large casserole or pie dish. Spoon over mash and spread to cover lamb. Grill as above.

Step 6

Plate Up

Divide shepherd’s pie between plates and top with freshly cracked black pepper to serve. Serve with salad leaves drizzled with your favourite dressing.