Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks

This is my type of comfort food. Of course both my husband and I enjoy lamb. This dish is great to make in the slow cooker. The house smells so good while this is cooking. If you are not a lamb eater then you can substitute with beef shanks. Start these in the morning and let them cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. The meat just falls off the bone. I like to serve this with a side of Risotto.

Ingredients: (serves 2, but more may be cooked for more people or for leftovers)

2 lamb shanks

1/2 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped celery

1 c chopped onion

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T tomato paste

2 c red wine (Pinot Noir)

For the Risotto:

1 c risotto rice

1 c white wine (Pinot Grigio)

2 c chicken broth

1 shallot, chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c peas, thawed if frozen

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Begin by seasoning the shanks with salt and pepper. To add more flavor, brown the shanks on top of the stove on all sides and put into the slow cooker. Next add the carrots, celery and onion and saute until soft. Next add the garlic. Saute for another minute and add all of this to the slow cooker. Now add the red wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring this to a boil and allow the alcohol to cook off. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Add this to the slow cooker. Add the tomato paste, give it a stir, cover and let it cook.

The risotto will take about 30-40 minutes. Begin by adding about 2 T of olive oil to a heavy pot, add the shallot and saute. Once it is soft, add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir. Now add the wine and rice and stir. Once the wine is about gone, slowly begin adding the chicken broth. Cook the rice at a low heat so that the broth absorbs slowly. Add more broth when the rice has absorbed most of what is in the pot. Continue in the manner and often. The stirring makes it creamy. When all the broth is gone, check the rice. If it is too firm you can add little water. Continue to cook until the rice is just a little firm in the center. Now add the peas and the Parmesan cheese. Stir, cover and turn off the heat. Allow it to rest for about 5-10 minutes.

To serve, place some rice to one side in the bottom of a bowl and then place the shank in along with some broth.

Enjoy!