Baked Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Herb Gravy

Ingredients

4-6 lamb shanks (preferably New Zealand lamb)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 stem of fresh rosemary
1 stem of fresh oregano
1 tsp paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 l (2 cups) red wine (Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 carrot
6 small potatoes (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cubes beef broth
1 l (4 cups) water

Preparation

Marinate Lamb Shanks for 2+ hours
Wash Lamb Shanks, put in large bowl. Add olive oil, sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt, paprika, 1/2 rosemary stem's herbs and fresh oregano on top of meat. Mix. Add 2 pressed cloves of garlic and 1/4 l (1 cup) red wine. Cover and let sit for 2+ hours.

Braise Lamb Shanks
Pat dry lamb shanks with paper towels. Heat up butter in a heavy frying pan. Add remaining garlic and remaining rosemary and black pepper. Sauté on high heat for 2 minutes. Add lamb shanks. Braise the shanks, one at a time, on both sides until slightly browned. Turn off heat.

Put in Roaster
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer lamb with any remaining juice into a roaster or roasting pan. Boil water and dissolve beef broth cubes. Pour over lamb in roaster. Add the marinate red wine mixture. Cut onion in half and place in roaster. Peel carrot and add. Add bay leaf. Optional: wash potatoes and cut in quarters (you may keep the skin on) and put in broiler.

Bake in Oven
Put roaster into the oven and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, occasionally flipping the shanks to ensure they are kept moist. Once the meat is cooked to your liking, drain gravy into a pot and keep meat wrapped in aluminum foil. Keep onions, carrots and potatoes (optional) for later. Remove bay leaf.

Make Gravy
Bring gravy to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce to medium heat and add red wine and salt to taste. Take a half cup of gravy into a cup or small bowl and mix in flour with a fork. Dissolve flour completely so that the water reaches a milky texture and appearance. Gradually add flour water mix to gravy, whisking constantly. Gravy should thicken. Taste gravy and add salt or red wine if needed.

Optional: Add carrot and onions that had been cooked with the shanks and blend together in food processor. This gives the gravy a more rustic and organic taste.

Serve meat with gravy and potatoes (optional).
Goes well with wild rice, roasted red peppers, zucchinis and eggplants.
Serves 4-6 people.