This recipe is so easy, it has to be the quickest thing to prepare!
I usually like to do this in the evening in preparation for dinner the next day.
I’ll leave it to cook for 8 hours overnight, then in the morning pop it into the fridge to cool.
It is then ready to reheat and have for dinner when needed! Alternatively you can prepare this in the morning and leave it to cook during the day when you’re at work.
Into the bottom of a slow cooker place the finely diced onions, celery and carrots, and minced garlic.
Place the 4 lamb shanks on top of this, then pour over the red wine and chicken stock.
Lastly, add the dates, celtic sea salt, thyme and bay leaves. Make sure everything is covered in the liquid and pop the lid on.
Set the slow cooker to the low setting and cook this for 2 hours.
After 2 hours leave the lid slightly ajar, so there is a 1cm gap allowing evaporation to escape.
Leave it like this to cook for a further 8 hours. By leaving the lid slightly ajar you allow moisture to escape which helps to thicken and caramelise the sauce.
The lamb is now ready, remove all the lamb bones (this should be easy as the meat will just fall of the bone), along with the 3 bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
If a lot of fat has collected on the top, which can happen because lamb is quite fatty, then skim it off using a spoon or some paper towel.
I prefer the paper towel trick, gently press some paper towel over the top of the stew and it will absorb all of the fat that has collected on top without absorbing any of the beautiful sauce you’ve created.
Once this is done, you can either serve it straight away or pop it straight into the fridge to keep for later.
To prepare the parsnip mash:
Peel the parsnips, chop them into rough cubes and pop them in a saucepan along with the water, salt and pepper
. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the parsnip is cooked.
Add the olive oil and using a stick blender blend until it forms a smooth mash.
Now all you have to do is serve it up!
I like to make a nest with the parsnip mash and fill it with the lamb shanks.