Lamb Shank Soup
Lamb Shank Soup - tender, slowly braised lamb shanks in a warming vegetable soup. Perfect family food for the changing weather.
Servings 4
Calories 437kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lamb shanks fat trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 300 g bacon roughly chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 1 baby fennel bulb chopped
- 1 brown onion chopped
- 6 chats/mini/baby potatoes chopped
- 4 fresh garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 3 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 250 ml dry white wine 1 cup
- 1 L beef stock 4 cups
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 500 ml water 2 cups
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or large heavy-based pot, heat the olive oil (1 tbsp) and fry the lamb shanks (2 - trimmed) on all sides until well browned, then remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place fennel seeds (2 tbsp) in a small frying pan and toast over low heat until slightly browned and fragrant. Remove from the pan then finely grind in a mortar and pestle and set aside.
- Add baby fennel bulb (1 - chopped), carrots (3 - chopped), bacon (300g - roughy chopped), brown onion (1 - chopped) and chat potatoes (6 - chopped) to the pot and fry until they start to soften.
- Mix in garlic (4 cloves - crushed) and tomato paste (2 tbsp) and fry for 1 minute. Then add dry white wine (250ml/1 cup) and allow to reduce slightly.
- Add fresh thyme leaves (3 tsp), ground toasted fennel seeds, fine salt (½ tsp) and reserved shanks to the pot. Top with beef stock (1L/4 cups) and water (500ml/2 cups), and simmer until lamb is tender and vegetables are cooked through. About 1 to 1½ hours depending on the size of your shanks.
- When lamb is tender, remove the shanks from the soup base and shred the meat, discarding bones and fat. Return shredded lamb to soup base and serve.
Notes
- Brown your shanks well, this is the stage that really helps build the flavour.
- You may notice from the process shots above that my shanks were halved in the middle. This is how they came when I purchased them, and isn't necessary to the recipe at all. Full shanks are great.
- The dry toasted fennel seeds may seem like a bit of a bother, but they give the most wonderful warm flavour to this lamb soup. Please don't skip this step! If you don't have a mortar and pestle you could use a spice grinder.
Nutrition
Calories: 437kcal