Judy's lamb shanks

You know how it is....the conversation around the "cuppa" tearoom table, amongst (mostly female) staff, goes something like this (as well as other delectable topics, not necessarily food related!) ......

"I have no idea WHAT I'm going to cook for dinner tonight"...(groan....sigh). Then someone pipes up with..."WEELLL...., I cooked lamb shanks last night...(smirk)". "Oh wow, lamb shanks are my all time favourite...how did you cook them?"

And this is the simple recipe, scribbled on the back of a very "important" document, that never made it's way to the intended recipient. It's now in my recipe folder. I really feel quite guilty about that (oh well..), but I've enjoyed this meal over and over, cooked either in a pressure cooker, or as last nights dinner, done in the slow cooker.

Personally I prefer the pressure cooked method, not only for it's speed and convenience, but because the shanks retain their shape, magnificent flavour, and most importantly, the meat still falls off the bone with a gentle coercion from the fork. With the slow cooker, most of the meat had fallen into the sauce, and there was nothing but sauce and bones. However, dinner was ready when I came home, after a long week of scribbling recipes on the back important documents. I recycle, that's good isn't it?

Served on top of creamy polenta, liberally laced with parmigiana reggiano, and a touch of parsley on the side, ahhhh...la dolce vita.

Katie, from Thyme for Cooking, the Blog who, in an untoward moment, had a recent encounter with a friendly centipede, and is the host of Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging # 99... Had Katie hosted next weeks event, it would have been very apt indeed.

Judy's Lamb Shanks

4 shanks/necks (cut away fat)
Large tin of tomato soup + some water
1/4 cup brown vinegar
Desertspoon of mustard powder
2 desertpoons of Worcestershire sauce
3 onions
4 rashers of bacon
Brown sugar

Cook it all together and thicken with flour (I love this methodolgy, but I would suggest you mix some flour with a liquid of some sort, to avoid horrible lumps)

Obviously the recipient of the document was lurking, because instructions and quantities had to brief. I usually quarter the onions, place the bacon rashers on top of each lamb shank, and as for the brown sugar, I guess I put in roughly 2 heaped tablespoons, more so for the consistency rather than the sweetness.


P.S. Don't forget to suck out the marrow....magnifico!