Lamb shanks are a surprisingly easy ingredient for a fancy dinner. Read on to see how most of this recipe can be made ahead of time, so that you can spend more time with your dinner guests and less time over the stove.

Time: 4/5
Entertain yourself while the shanks roast

Effort: 3/5
The oven does the work, while you get the credit

Mary had a big-ass feast

With Easter coming around, I thought I might pull a recipe from deep within my backlog and write about cooking lamb. Look Ma, I’m doing seasonal content like all the real food bloggers do!

Lately, I’ve been putting thought into presentation. My experience with plating the pan seared chicken thighs gave me a personal revelation that pretty food tastes better. Serving up some very simple and basic food, dressed up with some love and care, made it feel like a restaurant experience.

The economic case for cooking at home for special occasions is as follows: food cost typically makes up only about a third of the menu price when ordering out, with the remainder going to rent and labour. You have to pay rent at home anyway. If the labour is something you’re willing and able to put in, you can get a very similar product while paying less (as well as not suffering the inflated special menus that restaurants serve on every holiday!)

That’s why I made these lamb shanks (inspired by this recipe from Adam Ragusea – if you’re reading this, you’re my hero Adam!) for my SO’s birthday. It was sort of challenge to see if I could pull off a fancy three course meal, in the middle of the work week, that captures some of the magic of dining out without incurring the same cost.

The beauty of this game plan is that a lot of the work can be done in advance. The shanks can slow roast ahead of time, and mashed potatoes refrigerate well. It’s just as feasible to spend an afternoon preparing a special dinner, as it is to divide that prep up over two evenings and put everything together after some finishing touches.

Adam’s content rarely disappoints, and I have to say that we were both very happy with how this meal turned out. My SO couldn’t help but say “Why do we even go out for food anymore?”. Needless to say, I am very proud.

Dramatis Personae

Starter – Soup and croutons

This was made with a corn soup bouillon, but just because it’s an instant product doesn’t mean it has to stay basic. Croutons made with lamb drippings, and a sprig of Thai basil (leftover from some Pad Krapao Moo earlier) makes all the difference in presentation. The comparatively small effort to upgrade the soup’s appearance is worth it because it’s special occasion meal and – say it with me again, kids – pretty food tastes better.

Main Course – Lamb shanks on mashed potatoes and vegetable medley

Lamb shanks benefit from being generously seasoned well in advance. All I did was salt and pepper them liberally the night before I roast them, to give the salt all day to work it’s way deep into the meat. In retrospect, considering how thick the shanks were, it would have been even better if I let it dry brine for two days.

The connective tissue will break down into lip-smacking gelatine during their low-and-slow roast in the oven. I’ll brown them for some extra delicious flavour with the broiler, because that’s about the only way to do it because of the shanks’ irregular surface.

The mashed potatoes were just Russets that I cubed up, boiled until tender and mashed with butter, grated pecorino cheese (one of the greatest gustatory delights known to man) and seasoned to taste.

For vegetables, I sautéed some frozen fine beans and carrots because a) they were on sale at the store, and b) it’s a lot of work making the shanks already and I am not ashamed to cut corners.

When plating these lamb shanks, I tried to create height. The order of operation was a base of mashed potatoes, followed by a fancy drizzle of balsamic reduction for some visual contrast, the single shank stacked high with the exposed bone jutting out majestically with the vegetables nestled around its base.

Dessert – Panna Cotta

This was made by my SO. She bloomed about 1.5g of gelatine powder in a bit of hot water and whisked it along with a tiny dash of sugar into about 100ml of milk that she heated on the stove until lukewarm. She then poured it into two ramekins and let it set overnight in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.

We topped ours with some blueberries, but it looks beautiful as-is. A light dusting of powdered sugar would be very nice, as would a sprig of mint or any other fruit. As for the base liquid, any ratio of milk and cream would work, with the end result tasting richer if it had more fat.

Corn starch would work as a thickening agent too, if you don’t want to use gelatine. You’d need to use maybe double the amount, make a slurry out of it and bring the whole mixture to a simmer once you added it in. The end result would be more of a pudding than a jelly, and you won’t get the same glossy surface as you would with gelatine.

Executive summary

Two days before cooking:

• Dry brine the lamb shanks.

One day before:

• Make the panna cotta and keep in the fridge.
• Cover the lamb shanks with foil and roast at 140c/285f for 2 to 3 hours, or until tender.
• Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes with pecorino and butter, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

On the day of serving:

• Pull the shanks out of the fridge. Uncover, and toss some bread in the drippings.
• Broil both bread and shanks until browned.
• In the meantime, make the soup, and saute the vegetables.

Assemble and serve. Make it look nice!

Play by Play

Two days ahead. These 3 shanks weigh more than a kilogram, but despite that they each make for a generous serving because a lot of the mass is bone. I salted them right on the baking sheet and wrapped them up to let them dry brine, so I can throw it into the oven the next day.

One day ahead. The lamb shanks are in the oven, and there’s plenty of time to boil some potatoes until fork tender. Here I am mashing them with a conservative amount of pecorino cheese. The shanks are already pretty rich, so I’m going easy on the butter here. Pecorino is salty on its own, so I’ll hold the salt until I taste it with the cheese already incorporated. Once I’ve confirmed that the shanks are tender, I’ll let them cool down, wrap them up and toss them in the fridge until tomorrow.

Game day. I pulled the shanks out of the fridge about half an hour ago to let them come up to room temperature. Vegetables get sautéed in a pan in the meantime.Those pan drippings are just perfect for what’s coming next …

Nothing like some croutons to go with soup, and there’s nothing like croutons soaked with drippings! Bread and shanks go into the oven under the broiler. Check the bread often, because they’ll burn quickly!

While the croutons were in the oven, we prepared corn soup according to package instructions – we just added hot water. The croutons were ready before the shanks were, which was fine because I wanted them to brown a bit longer anyway, and it’s time to serve the first course. Don’t forget to also lay the table out all pretty-like!

A short break before serving the main course. The oven kept the shanks warm. Cold mashed potatoes go into the microwave on the plate. This has the added bonus of also warming up the plate, which will keep the food hot as you eat it. Then fancy balsamic drizzle, followed by vegetables, and a majestic shank to top it off.

No special occasion meal is complete without dessert! All the panna cotta needs is some finishing touches before it’s ready for the table. Bon appetit – Don’t forget to enjoy the moment in between taking pictures.

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