Noreen's birthday meal! Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary New Potatoes

I knew I had to do something special to please the missus, and I couldn't think of anything else to do but some lamb shanks. I've always done a previous version that has never failed to impress (with Worcester sauce and honey), but again, we didn't really have much in the kitchen so I went for a simple recipe. Again, this was impromptu and it seemed to please the guests, so without further ado;

4 lamb shanks
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
1 large white onion
3 shallots
7 Garlic cloves
2 x 10cm stalk of Rosemary
10 good sized Sage Leaves
A handful of Thyme
125g of unsalted butter
3 large carrots

For the new potatoes (you can use other baking potatoes - it just so happened we just harvested some of our own);

2 stalks of Rosemary
100g of Butter
salt and pepper
4 cloves of garlic

I started of with adding salt, pepper and grate half a nutmeg to the shanks in a big bowl and mixed it thoroughly. Nutmeg is essential - for some reason, it enhances the flavour of the lamb (and I shall have to find out how in due time). In a medium sized cooking pot, melt the butter in medium heat. Be careful not to burn the butter, and once you have enough at the base, add in the shanks. Brown on all sides. Then add in the sliced onions and shallots. Add in whole cloves of the peeled garlic. Bruise the rosemary leaves with the back of a knife handle (for maximum flavour) and roughly chop the sage leaves and thyme. The leaves were fresh from the garden and I think it is essential because it gave the dish texture and a pleasantly sweet taste. Add the herbs in whole. I left the dish to cook for about ten minutes while I peeled the carrots and cut them into chunky slices. Add the carrots and stir the dish to get an even mix. Reduce the heat to medium low-ish and cook for 2-3hours, stirring occasionally.

For the potatoes;

Pre heat the oven. Quarter the potatoes (I did not peel them) and mix with salt and pepper. De-stalk the rosemary and finely chop the leaves and add into the mix. Add the butter and and place it in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the butter, then mix again to get an even spread. Cook the potatoes at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. I certainly liked the potatoes whole rather than mashed.

Simple and full of flavour. A homely feel to it as well.