honeyed lamb shanks

Serves 4

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time 1½ hours

1 tablespoon plain flour

4 lamb shanks, about 400 g (13 oz) each

25 g (1 oz) butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 shallots, thinly sliced

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

finely grated rind of 1 orange

200 ml (7 fl oz) red wine

400 ml (14 fl oz) lamb or chicken stock

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons clear honey

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

several rosemary sprigs

500 g (1 lb) new potatoes

400 g (14 oz) can flageolet beans, rinsed and drained

salt and pepper

Season the flour with salt and pepper, and use to coat the lamb shanks. Melt the butter with the oil in a frying pan on the hob and fry the lamb on all sides for about 10 minutes until browned. Transfer to the bowl of the halogen oven.

Add the shallots to the frying pan and fry for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, orange rind, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce, honey, cayenne and rosemary. Bring to the boil and pour over the lamb.

Set the temperature to 200°C (392°F) and cook for 1 hour, turning the shanks several times during cooking. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the oven with the beans. Cook for a further 15 minutes until both lamb and potatoes are tender. Check the seasoning before serving.

For lamb shanks with lemon & capers, fry off the lamb shanks and other ingredients as above, replacing the red wine with 200 ml (7 fl oz) white wine, the orange rind with the finely grated rind of 1 lemon and the Worcestershire sauce and cayenne with 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers. Cook as above for 1¼. Finely chop 1 large garlic clove and mix with the grated rind of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley to make gremolata. Check the casserole for seasoning and serve scattered with the gremolata.