Lamb shanks with fennel, olives and feta

Lamb shanks with fennel, olives and feta. Photograph: Harry Weir
Lamb shanks with fennel, olives and feta. Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 3 hrs 0 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 lamb shanks
  • 80ml olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 onion, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
  • 1 head of fennel, trimmed and cut into 2cm chunks
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 200ml strong chicken stock
  • 1tbs honey
  • 1tsp dried oregano
  • 2 strips of orange peel
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 100g of mixed stoned olives
  • 200g feta cheese

1 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2 Put the lamb shanks on a roasting tray, drizzle a little olive oil over them and season with salt and pepper.

3 Roast for 20 minutes to get some colour on the lamb.

4 Tip the juice and oil from the tray into an oven-proof pot that will fit the lamb shanks snugly but is tall enough that you can cover with a lid.

5 Add the remaining olive oil along with the onion, fennel and garlic. Cook the vegetables over a medium high heat for 10 minutes or so, until they start to turn golden.

6 Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, honey, oregano and orange, then nestle the lamb in the pot, bone side up.

7 Turn the oven down to 150 degrees, cover the lamb and place in the oven for 2½ hours, or until the lamb is soft and tender and almost falling off the bone.

8 Check the sauce for seasoning and balance.

9 When serving the lamb shanks, tear the olives and crumble the feta over the top and serve with your favourite pasta.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford