It had been ages since I cooked a leg of lamb and I really wanted to but with our small little family of 3 it didn’t make sense to cook such a big roast. I decided to get a couple of lamb shanks. Make sure you get ones that look very fresh with a layer of fat around it. This is an easy dinner that is surprisingly affordable. Lamb shanks run about $7-$8 each. Tri color baby potatoes and carrots give this dish some flair. It takes about 4 hours so it’s more of a weekend dinner if you work full time. I hope you love this dinner as much as we do.

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks

1 bag of baby potatoes cut in half (tri color if you can find them)

1 bag of baby carrots (also tri color)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 1/2 cups chicken stock (1/2 cup reserved)

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup hot water

Instructions:

Turn oven on to 450. In a small bowl mix olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Place lamb shanks in roasting pan and rub completely with spice mix. Place in oven uncovered for 20 mins then remove from oven and turn temperature down to 325. Cover the roasting pan with foil. Make sure it is sealed tightly or the lamb will dry out. Return to oven for 2 hours. Do not open oven or check on lamb.

After 2 hours remove from oven and turn oven to 400. Add 1 cup chicken stock and potatoes and carrots. Salt and pepper the vegetables. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes and then remove lamb from pan to cutting board to rest and cover with foil.

Turn oven up to 425 and return pan to oven to finish cooking the potatoes and carrots. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are slightly crispy on the edges. Remove veggies from pan and place in a bowl and cover to keep warm.

To make the gravy:

In a shakeable container (we use empty gelato containers) add 3/4 cup hot water then flour and shake until all lumps are gone. Place pan on stove over medium heat. Add about 1/2 cup hot water to pan and use a whisk to get all the good bits loose as much as possible. Add in the shaken flour mix (I call this gravy sauce lol) stir until thickening then add in reminder of chicken stock. You may need to add a little more stock if too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste…check flavor a few times before serving.

Serve your family or friends and they will love you!

Servings: Serves 4, 573 calories per serving (includes potatoes and carrots)