Merlot-braised lamb shank with chorizo.

I've been hoping to slow things down lately, as it has been crazy, busy over the last few weeks. The weather has changed from bright autumn days to a dreary grey, drizzle. It's time to snuggle and cosy up with some comfort food and what better way to start than with a nice and easy Merlot-braised lamb shank with chorizo!

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks.
Salt and pepper.
Tablespoon of olive oil.
150ml Balsamic vinegar.
250ml Merlot.
300ml Beef stock.
Bulb of garlic.
2 x bay leaves.
1 x teaspoon paprika.
10 x peppercorns.
Few sprigs of Rosemary.
1 x red onion.
Baby carrots.
Sliced chorizo.
2 tablespoons of Heinz tomato sauce.

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees.

Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper.

Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and brown the lamb all over. Remove and place to one side until needed.

In a casserole dish heat the balsamic vinegar and Merlot until boiling. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. Then add 1/2 bulb of garlic, cut horizontally, the bay leaves, paprika, peppercorns and a few sprigs of fresh Rosemary. Finally, add the browned lamb shanks and the beef stock.

Place the casserole dish into the pre-heated oven for two hours.

Afterwards, thickly slice a red onion, top and tail some baby carrots, slice a handful of chorizo and place all of them in the casserole dish. Add two tablespoon of Heinz tomato sauce and give everything a little stir.

Return the casserole dish back into the oven for a further hour.

I guarantee your kitchen will smell delicious and the lamb will literally flake away from the bone. I served this with a huge dollop of cheesy mashed potato. It was just what was needed on a cold and dreary October night.

I hope you enjoy X