Meat Market

If you're after a hearty dish for Easter, Colin Fassnidge and Anthony Puharich have done the legwork for you, and the recipe is as easy as pie.

A winning lamb shank shepherd’s pie.

A: It's got to be lamb for Easter. But we’ve always done a leg of lamb or a lamb shoulder, so let’s do lamb shanks. Lamb shank shepherd’s pie. Slow-braised lamb shanks with a delicious cheesy potato top.

C: Let’s go fancy. I usually use mince for a pie, but if you braise lamb shanks they get this gelatinous texture. A: Unctuous!

C: And then you hide the shredded lamb meat under the duvet…

A: Doona. It's a doona.

C: …the duvet of mashed potato.

A: If you're feeling fancy, you can shred the meat off the bone, but you keep one bone and stick it through the mash.

C: It’s superficial, but it looks good! It’s been done for years in pubs, though. So we don't need to at home.

A: So your butcher doesn’t need to French the shanks or anything like that? C: No, no. As is!

A: Just nice fat, fresh, un-Frenched hind-quarter lamb shanks. From the back legs because they’re nice and meaty.

C: Perfect. So you sear your lamb shanks, then we'll cook some veg and deglaze the pan with some white wine. Then we'll just braise the shanks with the veg till the meat is falling off the bone. We'll make a gravy with the cooking juices, too. You let that cool down while you make your mash. Now that’s sebago with their skin on.

A: Skin on? What?

C: Skin on the potatoes.

A: Skin on! Skin off! You’re like Mr Miyagi. C: What are we talking about now?! Anyway, you boil them, then mash them with cream, butter and about half the cheese. Then a bit of parsley and lemon, and we'll get the meat, veg and gravy into a dish, top with the mash and the rest of the cheese.

A: You made shepherd's pie fancy. It's a miracle!

LAMB SHANK SHEPHERD'S PIE SERVES 4-6

Begin this recipe at least 3 hours ahead.

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

6 lamb shanks

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3/4 tsp ground clove

2 cinnamon quills

4 bay leaves

1 cup (250ml) white wine

3 cups (750ml) tomato passata

CHEESY POTATO TOPPING

1.6kg sebago potatoes, peeled

(sorry, Colin!), cut into 3cm pieces

1/ 2 cup (125ml) pure (thin) cream

30g unsalted butter

140g cheddar, coarsely grated

1/ 2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked,

finely chopped

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Heat oil in a large heavy based saucepan over medium-high heat. Season lamb all over and add to the pan. Cook, turning for 8-10 minutes until browned all over. Set aside. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, spices and bay leaves to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for

5-6 minutes or until vegetables start to soften. Add white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon.

Return lamb to the pan, add passata, 2 cups (500ml) water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 3 hours 30 minutes-4 hours or until meat is falling off the bone. Remove lamb and set aside. Skim off excess fat from sauce then increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for 15-20 minutes until thickened. Shred meat into large chunks, discarding any fat, sinew and bones. Add meat to sauce, season to taste and stir to combine. Set aside.

Meanwhile, for the cheesy potato topping, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover in cold, salted water. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and boil for 25-30 minutes until cooked. Drain potatoes, and return to the pan. Add cream, butter, half the cheddar and nutmeg, and mash until smooth and creamy. Season to taste, and stir through the parsley and lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a 2L-capacity baking dish add the lamb mixture and spoon over potato topping. Scatter with remaining 70g cheddar and bake for 40-45 minutes until crispy and golden on top.