Prep Time:	20 min.
Cook Time:	9 hrs.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• a few parsley stalks
• 4 lamb shanks
• about 1/2 c (100 ml) red wine
• 1 x 14 oz (1 x 400 g) can chopped tomatoes in juice
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 c boiling water
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• butter and flour to thicken sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add onion, carrot, and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes. Place in the base of a slow cooker. Sprinkle herbs on top. (Simulating slow cooker with dutch oven in the oven: about 200-225F when cooking for 9 hrs, or 325F for 2-3 hrs in a Le Creuset...see this link)
2. Place a frying pan over a moderate heat and brown the lamb shanks on all sides, then place on top of herbs.
3. Add red wine to the frying pan and allow to bubble up. Add tomatoes and juice and tomato paste. Pour in boiling water and stir well. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over the lamb shanks. (The liquid should just cover the shanks.)
4. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours until the lamb is beginning to fall off the bone.
5. Remove lamb shanks and strain sauce through a sieve, pushing down on the vegetables as you go. Leave to cool to allow the fat to rise to the surface and set. Remove fat.
6. Reheat the lamb shanks in the sauce. Thicken sauce by whisking in a paste of equal quantities of softened butter and flour, until the sauce is a syrupy consistency. Taste and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Serve lamb shanks with your favourite mash and steamed vegetables.