Lamb Shanks with Marsala, Onions and Garlic Mash

A great make-ahead showstopper to welcome Autumn

If it’s still really hot when this recipe comes out, then I do apologise, but I had to schedule it well in advance and I cannot for the life of me work out how to control the weather.

I’ve long been a fan of a Lamb Shank, and I am frankly surprised that this is their first outing here on The Dinner Party. They are the perfect single serve piece of meat on the bone, they cook easily and quickly, relative to your average tough cut, and they have phenomenal flavour. I have long fantasised about cooking Lamb Shanks in Marsala with lots of onions and, as I suspected it’s a phenomenal combination.

I think it’s easy to fall into a trap with the pricier braising cuts and to basically throw the book at them, as it were ie. add loads of ingredients to your braise. But it’s worth remembering that the meat is supposed to work for you, you do not work for the meat. Buying high quality meat is the only necessity. Once you’ve got that even the most simple and understated recipe will work because the meat will do the talking. That’s the philosophy I’ve approached this recipe with and I am pleased to report it is beautiful.

You know me, I love a good mash, and I felt somewhat Frenchly that I wanted to make one that was delightfully garlicky for our shanks. It’s always a bit of a mystery to me when people roast whole garlic bulbs for everything. It’s simply not necessary, it’s extra work and extra grim squeezing out those flabby cloves. I do get the point of roasted garlic, I do not get the point of it in everything. This garlic mash is made with grated garlic, took very little time and was very good. My husband described it as “Pizza Express Doughball Mash” so, hopefully that helps.

This is a wonderful main for a dinner party, not least because it’s all very easy to reheat should you wish to get ahead. In fact, as I always say, a braise always tastes better the next day.

LAMB SHANKS WITH MARSALA, ONIONS AND GARLIC MASH

Serves 4

For the Lamb

• 4 good quality lamb shanks

• 6 tbsps olive oil

• 2 tbsps sea salt

• 4 large onions - 2 red, 2 white, peeled and cut into quarters

• 2 sticks celery, chunkily sliced

• 4 bay leaves

• 250ml dry marsala

• 800ml lamb or chicken stock

• Salt and pepper

For the mash

• 1.3kg maris piper potatoes

• 130g double cream

• 200g butter

• 200ml whole milk

• 4 - 6 garlic cloves, finely grated

• 20g parsley, finely chopped, plus a bit extra for the top

To serve

• 400g spinach, wilted

• 3 tbsps olive oil

• plenty of salt and pepper

• zest of a lemon

First remove your lamb shanks from the fridge and salt them all over, rubbing it into the meat. Preheat your oven to 150 fan. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or if you have a casserole that will fit all 4 shanks, use that. On a medium to high heat, brown the shanks on all sides, taking care to get a good golden colour. Once the shanks are browned, set aside. Add the onion quarters to the pan and let them get a nice golden sear on their cut sides too. It’s not a problem if their layers come apart, don’t worry if this happens. Colour the onions on all sides then add the celery and fry together for another 8 - 10 minutes. Pour in the marsala and use it to scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Bring it to the boil but don’t let it reduce by much. Pour in your hot stock and add the bay leaves. If you are working in a pan big enough add in your lamb shanks. If not you can lay them in a deep oven tray and pour over the braise. Either way, cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper followed by a tight layer of foil, or a lid. Place the lamb in the oven to braise for around 1 hour 15. After this time, remove it, flip each shank over, so whichever side hasn’t been completely submerged in the braise can have it’s turn now. Return to the oven for another 1 hour 15. After this take the shanks out and let them sit in their braise for 1 hour. If you are making this the night before, let them cool to room temperature before chilling them in their in the liquid over night.

To cook the potatoes for your mash you have two options - either peel and boil them until tender or you can bake them in the oven whole at 200 fan for around 1 hour - 1 hour 15. The former is easier and quicker, the latter is marginally better for flavour and texture. Warm the cream, milk and butter together on medium heat so that the butter melts. Add in the garlic and let it infuse for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. When the potatoes are cooked scoop their flesh into potato ricer and press the mash into a fresh saucepan. I only make mash with my ricer. When all the potatoes have been mashed, pop them on a low heat and slowly add the garlicky butter cream mix. It is important that all components of the mash are hot, as when the potatoes cool and are mixed they will become gluey. Stir through your parsley and season to taste - I find mash needs LOTS of salt and pepper. Cover the surface with clingfilm and set aside until needed, or chill in the fridge overnight and simply reheat in a pan the next day.

To finish the shanks, preheat the oven to 160 fan. Skim any solidified fat off the top of the braise, then remove the shanks. Don’t worry if they have lots of jellified liquid all over them, that’s good! Pop them into a tray and cover tightly with foil - the residual jelly stuck to them will melt down in the pan and make sure they don’t dry out. Let them reheat in the oven for 30 minutes. Take the remaining braise and pop it into a pan. Once it is warm and liquid, strain out the onions - keep them! Return the liquid to the pan and bring it up to a boil. Reduce the braise by half, it will become slightly thickened and cloudy and the flavour will intensify to a beautiful, savoury lamb jus. Once reduced, return the onions to the pan and check and adjust the seasoning of the sauce. It will have become a lot saltier in the reduction, so wait to do this until it is finished. Make sure the lamb shanks are hot by checking the temperature of the meat next to the bone - if it is very hot / above 68 degrees celsius, you are good to go.

I like to wilt some spinach in a dry pan to serve alongside this and then finish it with oil, salt and pepper. A little bit of lemon zest is lovely here too.

Serve the lamb draped in its jus and the soft, sweet onions, alongside the mash and spinach.

MAKE AHEAD -

• You can cook the lamb shanks up to 3 days ahead and keep them stored in their braise in the fridge. Reheat as above.

• The mash will also keep for 2 days, although as it is so garlicky it will need to be very tightly covered in tuppaware.

SUBSTITUTIONS -

• Dry sherry would be a good switch for Marsala.