Slow cooked lamb shanks
My husband, David Robson, was a kind and loving man who cared deeply for all his family and friends. But David Robson was also a chef! He used his amazing talent, to dazzle customers in the restaurants he worked in, and friends and family at dinner parties.
It bought David so much pleasure to make people happy through his food. Cooking food or going for dinner with the people he loved, was what he lived for.
It could be fine dining, decadent meals out in posh restaurants, or spending a fortune in Waitrose on a week night tea. It could be marinading meat, pan frying cod in masses of butter, painstakingly pealing broad beans. Whatever David did, he did with passion, and salt!
So many people have wonderful memories of the food adventures they have been on with David. I hope you get as much enjoyment from his lamb shank. Make sure you accompany it with a large glass of wine and David would be pleased!
Thanks to Helen Nicholson for sharing these memories of her husband David Robson. Helen and David were supported throughout illness and bereavement by Sue Ryder.
4 Lamb shanks
2 Carrots
2 sticks celery
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
Bay leaf
Small bunch fresh thyme
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 glasses red wine
1 pint good quality beef stock.
Brown the shanks in oil and season well and set aside.
Chop the vegetables into small pieces and add to the pan. Cook until fairly soft and slightly brown.
Add the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes.
Add wine, bay leaf and thyme.
Add the stock and the lamb shanks and cover the pan.
Cook very gently for 2 hours.
Remove the lamb.( Shanks can be wrapped tightly in cling film at this point and refrigerated if serving later.)
Pass the stock through a sieve to remove vegetables.
Allow to the liquid to cool and when fat settles on top, remove and discard.
Reheat the stock and reduce by about half.
Add the lamb back to the stock, cover and reheat.
Serve with buttered new potatoes and braised cabbage.