Braised Lamb Shanks Chef: George Calombaris Serves 4 Ingredients: 1

Braised Lamb Shanks Chef: George Calombaris

Serves 4

Ingredients: 750g Greek natural yoghurt 4 lamb shanks, trimmed Salt & freshly ground black pepper Olive oil ¼ cup white wine 11/2 cups chicken stock 2 French shallots, peeled, thinly sliced 2 whole garlic cloves 6 sprigs thyme 1 lemon, rind peeled into strips, halved 5 beads mastic 2 tbs honey Extra virgin olive oil Young sprigs flat leaf parsley, to serve

1. Spoon the yoghurt into a fine meshed sieve and place over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow excess liquid to drain from the yoghurt.

2. Preheat oven 165 °C conventional/140 °C fan forced. Heat a large deep ovenproof frying pan over high heat until hot. Season shanks well with salt and pepper. Cover the base of the pan with oil and cook shanks, in two batches, for 5 minutes, turning until golden all over. Return all shanks to pan and deglaze the pan with the wine. Pour in the chicken stock. Remove pan from the heat.

3. Spoon the yoghurt over the lamb to cover. Scatter over the shallots, garlic, thyme, lemon rind, mastic and drizzle with honey. Place a cartouche (round of baking paper) onto the surface of the lamb and cover with a light fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 4 hours.

4. Remove the lid, cartouche and sprigs of thyme. Carefully transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter and spoon over some of the thick yoghurt top. Strain the juices into a saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice from half lemon. Remove from heat, insert a stick blender into the sauce and while blending add 2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the lamb, scatter with parsley and serve.