Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Thyme & Balsamic

Ingredients:

• 2 or 4 Pasture Fed Lamb Shanks
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves, garlic, finely sliced
• 3 tbsps flour (I used Tapioca for gluten free)
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 400g tin of diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp dried thyme (I used four sprigs of fresh thyme)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

• Add your flour, salt and pepper to a bowl or bag and place your lamb shanks in and thoroughly coat with flour.  Make sure you dust off the shanks properly so your dish doesn’t go gluggy.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a fry pan and lightly brown the shanks two at a time and set aside.
• Heat remaining oil in pan and add onion, garlic and thyme.  Cook for 2-3 mins until the onion is translucent.  Add in the balsamic vinegar, honey and tomatoes and stir together until just bubbling.  Pour this sauce into the slow cooker.
• Place lamb shanks into the sauce making sure the meaty part is covered.  Cook on low for 8 hours.
• You can choose to thicken the sauce by setting aside the lamb shanks and transferring the sauce to a pan.  Add 1 tbsp of arrowroot or cornflower and simmer uncovered for about 15 mins.  I chose not to do this and just poured the sauce over the dish.
• These slow cooked lamb shanks are best served with a sweet potato mash.  Up your greens intake by adding sauteed kale on the side and pouring over lots of sauce.