Ingredients:
4 lamb shanks
2 shallots
2 litres of lamb stock
4 cloves of garlic
Sprigs of rosemary
Carrots
Parsnips
Hazelnuts
Honey
Butter
With all this uncertainty surrounding most areas of life at the moment we're certainly finding ourselves turning to comfort food, and what's more comforting than the beloved British favourite, Shepherd's Pie? However, Chef Kelly Stretton ups the ante on this classic dish by introducing a Lamb Shank!
Slow cooked for around 4 hours it's wonderfully tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Use that extra time you find yourself hanging around the house to treat yourself and your family to this hearty meal for four.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. For the lamb shank, heat a large frying pan with a little oil and brown off all sides of your lamb shanks, deglazing as you go with water or stock and add to the roasting pot.
3. Peel and slice the shallots lengthways adding them to the frying pan to char slightly, then add them straight into your roasting pot.
4. Make incisions into the shanks with a sharp knife and push in some chopped chunks of garlic and rosemary sprigs.
5. Add the shanks to a deep roasting dish - you want the fit to be quite snug, so don't use too large of a pan.
6. Top with stock (and extra water if needed to cover the shanks).
7. Roast on 200°C for 30 minutes then down to 160°C for 4 hours.
8. For the mashed potato, peel and cut the potato into equal sizes. Add to the salted water and boil until soft (15-20 minutes as a guide).
9. Drain the potatoes and you can mash how you like, using a masher, a potato ricer or push the potato through a sieve for a really fine finish.
10. Add the potato back to the pan and back on the heat.
11. Push the potato to one side and add the butter to the empty side, allowing it to melt. Add a drop of milk, stir the melted liquid, pulling in some of the potato a little at a time, adding a splash more milk each time.
12. Keep going until all the potato has combined with the butter and milk and you have a smooth silky consistency.
13. To assemble the pie, remove the shanks from the roasting pot and place into individual pie dishes. Once centred, hold the bone straight and gently push the meat down and it will literally fall away from the bone. You just want to do this a little so it spreads out across the bottom of the dish whilst holding the bone straight up in place.
14. Reduce the liquid left in the roasting dish by placing it on the hob to boil down to a delicious gravy. Add a little over the meat in the individual pie dishes and keep the rest to serve as extra indulgent gravy.
15. Spoon the mashed potatoes around the bone and covering the dish.
16. Top with grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes on 180°C until the cheese has turned a golden brown and is bubbling away.
17. Slice the carrots and parsnips lengthways and add the butter in cubes over the top and season with salt. Pop in the oven with the pie for 20 minutes, then add a drizzle of honey all over for the remaining 10 minutes so that everything is ready together.
18. Take it out of the oven and let them all tumble into a large serving dish, pouring over any honeyed butter juices left. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and sprinkles them generously over the top.
19. Serve immediately.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
For more of Chef Kelly Stretton's creations, head to Planet Eat for her Ultimate Supper Club masterclass.
