These braised lamb shanks from Lucy Waverman are delicious and can be made ahead. Rub shanks with spices, brown and set aside. Sauté the vegetables, more spices, red wine, vinegar, stock, tomato paste and bay leaf and then bring to a boil. Return meat to pan and bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours. At this point, you can puree the sauce while baking the shanks for another 15 minutes. Reheat the sauce and the shanks together. To make ahead, refrigerate for up to a day before reheating.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. I used Acetaia La Bonissma balsamic vinegar which has no added sulfites, a wine from Frogpond Farm with a sulfite level below 10 parts per million, Better Than Bouillon chicken paste for the stock and Simple tomato paste.

Spice braised lamb shanks

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cumin

1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger

1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) cinnamon

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) cayenne

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

4 lamb shanks

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup (250 ml) chopped onion

½ cup (125 ml) chopped carrot

½ cup (125 ml) chopped celery

2 teaspoons (10 ml) chopped garlic

1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried rosemary

1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried thyme

1 cup (250 ml) red wine

1 tablespoon (15 ml) balsamic vinegar

2½ cups (625 ml) beef or chicken stock, home-made or low-sodium

1 tablespoon (15 ml) tomato paste

1 bay leaf

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 F (149 C). Combine cumin, ginger, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne. Rub shanks with 2 teaspoons (10 ml) spice mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil in skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Brown lamb shanks in batches on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve. Wipe out pan and add remaining oil. Reduce heat to medium.

Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Sauté until onion browns slightly, about 5 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture, rosemary and thyme and sauté for 30 seconds. Add red wine and bring to boil. Add balsamic, stock, tomato paste and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Return meat to pan.

Bake for 2 to 2½ hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat and reserve. Discard the bay leaf and puree the stock and vegetables in a food processor or blender. Return sauce to pan. Place pan on stove over high heat and reduce until sauce lightly coats a spoon. Meanwhile, place the shanks on a baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Return to pot.

When ready to use, simmer sauce and lamb together for 15 minutes or until reheated. Serves 4. To make ahead, refrigerate the vegetable-stock mixture and shanks separately for up to a day. Remove fat from vegetable-stock mixture, puree and reheat. Add the shanks to the sauce and simmer until they are reheated.

From Lucy Waverman