Braised lamb shanks in white wine, with thyme, fennel, orange, cinnamon, butter beans

This is a slow cooked lamb shank, which when cooked, is very tender and falls off the bone, with rich hearty flavours of citrus, herbs and spices.

I cooked this for Andrew and his parents last night. Andrew gave me a brief for this lamb shank, ie no tomatoes, no red wine. Little did I know he was trying to relive his memories of a french braised lamb shanks with white beans that he had in a french restaurant some years back. So, I made it with white wine, and because I wanted to use up my fresh fennel and leftover orange (from zesting for a chocolate cake), I started thinking more moorish instead of french, with cinnamon and spices. Had I thought french, I would not have included the coriander and cumin! Overall, everyone enjoyed it. We had it with fresh fennel, grapefruit salad, and turkish bread with homemade hummus.

Prep time 30 minutes. Cooking time 2 1/2 hours. Resting time 15-30 minutes.

Ingredients

4 large lamb shanks

1 cup flour

A bouquet gani (I used a handful of fresh thyme and bay leaves)

2 red onions, cut in squares.

1 carrot, cut into squares/quarters.

1 stalk of celery

All end stalks of one large fennel.

2  cloves of garlic

1 cinnamon stalk

1 can of butter beans

Juice of 1 orange ( I used whole orange, and the rind created some bitterness)

1 whole bottle of white wine

1 cup chicken stock.

 (Note: My original recipe had freshly grounded coriander and cumin, but I have removed it from here, as the spices, white nice, overpowered the fresh herbs.)

 Preheat oven to 180deg fan force.

Wash and pat dry lamb shanks with paper towel.
Remove fats and sinews from lamb shanks.
Meanwhile, medium heat up a thick based pot that can also cook in the oven, with a dash of olive oil.
Pour a cup of flour onto a large plate. Lightly coat lamb shanks in flour.
Evenly sear all sides of lamb shanks in the heated oil, heat should be hot enough such that it should brown within a minute or 2.
Remove shanks and put aside.

Saute garlic and onion in the pot till softened.
Then, add all the other vegetables, spice and herbs, and saute.
Deglaze pot with a few splashes of white wine.
Pour in remaining bottle of white wine, and boil on high heat to evaporate the alcohol (or alternatively light a fire above the surface of the liquid for the same purpose)
Immerse the shanks into the pot.
Add cup of chicken stock.
Liquid should preferably cover the shanks, if not press a piece of aluminium foil over the top of the meat, before closing the lid, to protect the top part from drying out.
Cook in oven for 1 hour.
Add beans, and continue cooking for 1 1/2 hours.
Rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetite!