Warming the soul with winter comfort food is definitely the recommendation from QT Magazine food columnist Jane Shaw of Provisions Cafe in Arrowtown the season as below…

I’m all about meltingly tender slow cooked winter meals and this recipe using Nadia Lim’s  local Royalburn lamb shanks will help ward off the winter chill. 

Provisions has a new winter menu featuring plenty of hearty dishes using seasonal and local ingredients.  I encourage people to pop into our historic Arrowtown café and grab a loaf of our Provisions pumpkin sourdough or the linseed bagels along with a jar of our housemade crab apple jelly to take home. While you’re here enjoy a glass of our delicious mulled wine with brunch or lunch in the café.  

On the home front we will be enjoying planting out our garlic and making sure flowering pots are sheltered from the frosts while taking comfort in enjoying bowls of hot soup and casseroles after a day spent up the mountain or standing on the side-lines watching grass roots rugby.

Winter in the Wakatipu is pretty wonderful – enjoy!

Red Wine Rosemary Lamb Shanks – serves 4-6

6 lamb shanks –Royalburn Station fore shanks approx 220g each

2 onions diced

2 carrots peeled and diced

2 celery stalks diced

6 cloves garlic chopped

2 large stems of rosemary 

Handful fresh thyme

3 tlbsp flour

2-3 bay leaves

½ bottle full bodied red wine

2 tlbsp tomato paste

3 tlbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tlbsp wholegrain mustard

2 tlbsp crab apple jelly (or any jelly or honey)

1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

750ml chicken stock

25 g butter

2 tlbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt & cracked pepper – to taste

Method

Heat oven to 350oC 

Bring lamb shanks to room temperature, dry and dust in the flour. Heat butter in a large lidded cast iron casserole dish and cook shanks until well browned on all sides then remove from the dish.  Heat oil and cook onion, garlic, carrot & celery until soft and lightly golden.  Add red wine and bring to the boil and then stir in mustard, tomato paste, crab apple jelly, balsamic vinegar, can of chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, rosemary (shredded off the stalk .) thyme, chicken stock  and salt and pepper.  Bring back to boil on stove top and then add in lamb shanks and any meat juices.

Cover with lid or if using a large deep roasting dish wrap two layers of tinfoil over and place in oven for 2 ½ hours.  Remove from oven and check for tenderness and add more red wine or stock if needed.  Return to oven for ½ -1 hour more until meltingly tender.

Remove from oven and check seasoning and add more if required.  Remove the vegetables if preferred and reduce liquid until syrupy and add a 25g more butter. Serve with mashed potato or creamy polenta as well as steamed broccolini or roasted brussel sprouts.