Ingredients

• 4 lamb shanks
• 6 tinned anchovies
• cut into halves
• 12 small rosemary sprigs
• 12 slivers garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 55g/2oz duck fat
• butter or dripping
• 2 carrots
• roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery
• roughly chopped
• 1 leek
• roughly chopped
• 2 onions
• roughly chopped
• 1 head garlic
• broken up into cloves
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ bottle red wine
• 600ml/1 pint chicken or lamb stock or water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 115g/4oz streaky bacon lardons
• blanched
• 1 carrot
• finely diced
• 1 stick celery
• finely diced
• 1 onion
• finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic
• peeled
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• chopped
• 4 tomatoes
• seeded and diced
• 2 x 375g/13oz tins flageolet beans
• drained and rinsed
• 3 cloves garlic
• chopped
• 5 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 lemons
• grated zest only
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
• For the lamb shanks
• first remove the majority of fat from the shanks. Make three deep incisions in each shank and insert in each half an anchovy wrapped around a sprig of rosemary and a slice of garlic. Season the meat with salt and freshly ground black pepper - you will not need too much salt as the anchovies are very salty.
• Heat a little duck fat
• butter or dripping in a casserole
• add the shanks and brown all over. Remove and set aside.
• To the casserole
• add the carrots
• celery
• leek
• onions
• garlic cloves and herbs and cook over a high heat until the vegetables are browned.
• Deglaze the casserole by adding the red wine
• scraping the residue on the bottom of the pan and stirring well.
• Add the stock or water to the casserole
• place the shanks on top of the vegetables
• cover and cook in the oven for two and a half hours.
• When the lamb has finished cooking
• remove the four shanks to a dish and keep warm. Pass the vegetables and cooking liquor through a mouli
• or blend in a food processor
• and set to one side.
• For the sauce
• heat the oil in a large pan over a medium to high heat. Add the bacon and fry until browned. Reduce the heat and add the carrot
• celery
• onion and garlic.
• Cook for eight minutes until the vegetables have softened then add the thyme
• rosemary
• tomatoes and flageolet beans. Heat through.
• Pass the blended lamb cooking liquor and vegetables through a strainer or fine sieve onto the bean mixture
• stir together and pour over the lamb shanks.
• Mix the gremolata ingredients together to make the gremolata.
• Serve the lamb garnished with the gremolata and parmesan.