Port & Blackberry Lamb Shanks

Simply spectacular, this is a superb alternative to a Sunday roast…

Method

1. Start by grinding the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, then mixing with some fresh ground pepper and some salt. Then pat this mix onto each shank, dust with a little flour and fry gently, ideally in the hob-enabled casserole dish. While the meat is browning turn the oven on to 150 degrees C
2. Slice up the leeks, onions, garlic and celery and roughly chop the unpeeled carrot into 2 inch chunks. When the meat is browned on all sides, remove it from the dish and use it to gently fry the veg and the chopped herbs for 5 minutes
3. Add the wine and the stock and bring to the boil, simmer for a minute or two and arrange the shanks on top of the mix before transferring to the oven
4. Bake these for around 3 hours, coming back once an hour to carefully turn the shanks so as to ensure all sides are submerged in the liquor for at least some of the cooking time.
5. When ready, remove from the oven, wrap each shank in foil and pop them back in – MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE OVEN OFF!!!! Pick out the carrots, wrap them in foil and put them in the oven to keep warm as well.
6. Strain the liquid from the pot into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the star anise, a generous slug of port and simmer until reduced by about half
7. Blitz 90% of the blackberries and strain through a sieve into the sauce (to avoid seeds in the sauce)
8. When reduced, transfer this sauce to a jug, then make a small amount of roux (10-15g each of butter and flour) in the bottom of the pan. Cook out the flour for a moment, then slowly add the sauce and keep stirring until it’s the consistency of a thin-ish gravy. Add a small knob of butter at the end to make it nice and shiny and add the last few berries just to warm them before serving.
9. Add a dollop of mash to a bowl, place some carrots around the edge, balance a shank on top and garnish with a blackberry or two fished out from the sauce. Pour the sauce over the lamb and serve garnished with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley to make it look even better!