Incredible baked lamb shanks
Many people have a real affection for lamb shanks, thinking of them as a bit of a treat. I've cooked them for years and really love this particular style of baking them because it's so easy and comforting – almost like wrapping up a jacket potato to put on the bonfire. By using simple root veg and a flavoured butter, and by tightly squeezing the tinfoil around each shank, the most is made of the flavour of the meat without having to cover it in spices or tomatoes or anything like that. It's very easy to prep the shanks for this dish and I think they look cool enough to be a lovely main course for a dinner party. The shanks should be eaten with all the veggies and any buttery juices. They're really good served with creamy mashed potato and steamed greens to contrast with the roasting stickiness of the lamb.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
What these numbers assume — 12 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lamb | 100g cooked | 294 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Rosemary | 1 tsp dried (1.2g) | 4 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Sage | 1 tsp ground (0.7g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 100 g cold butter
- 15 fresh sage leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 quality lamb shanks, crown- or French-trimmed
- 12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 large carrots, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 leek, washed, halved and finely sliced
- olive oil
- 2 wineglasses white wine