Perfect, fall off the bone, Italian Style Lamb Shanks cooked in an Instant Pot and served on a bed of creamy parmesan loaded mash with gravy and topped with homemade gremolata. A symphony of feel good flavours. Oh and some buttery minted peas on the side is always a good idea.
375mlhot beef or vegetable stockFeel free to replace 125 ml of the stock with dry white wine
10mlcorn flour
salt and pepper to taste
Gremolata
15gItalian parsleyfinely chopped
1garlic clovecrushed
1lemonzest and juice
60mlolive oil
To serve:
Mashed Potatoes made with butter, cream, lots of grated parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmegRecipe in notes below ;-)
Buttery Minted Peasoptional
Instructions
For Instant Pot: Press Sauté function and add the shanks and top with onions, garlic, herbs, capers, peppercorns and hot stock. Heat until liquid starts to simmer.
Seal with lid and use Slow Cook setting with More (High) option. Cook for 1 hour ( I choose to do it this way to really allow the flavours to develop). Then change setting to Pressure Cook (High) for 35 minutes.
Combine gremolata ingredients together and set aside. This is also a good time to prep your mashed potatoes and peas.
Release steam and open. Gently remove lamb shanks from the cooking liquid and set aside*. Press Sauté setting again to reduce the liquid and thicken with a slurry of 10 ml corn flour to create a yummy gravy. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: If you want to brown your shanks a bit, simply drizzle lightly with olive oil and pop into a 200°C oven for 15 minutes. Add back to gravy or serve immediately covered in gravy!
Arrange lamb shanks on a generous bed of mashed potato. Pour over some gravy and top with gremolata and serve buttery minted peas on the side.
Enjoy!
Oven Roasting Option
Place all ingredients into a oven proof casserole dish and cook covered in a 160°C oven for 4 hours. Use above method for gravy.
Slow Cooker Option
Place all the ingredients as above instruction into your slow cooker and cook over medium heat for 6 hours. Use above method for gravy.
Notes
Creamy Parmesan Mash:For lamb shanks, I lean toward a thicker mash (think polenta) that holds it's own.4-6 large potatoes ( I am in love with the local potatoes in Kuwait or from Lebanon - super floury) 50 g butter 250 ml cream or full cream milk, warm 250 ml grated parmesan Salt, pepper and nutmeg to tasteBoil peeled and cubed potatoes in salted water until tender. Mash with butter, warm cream or milk and parmesan until lumps are gone. Add more milk if needed and whisk (not a hand beater or blender) the mash until smooth and fluffy. Season to taste.