MISO & SESAME-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH MANDARIN, FRIED BROCCOLINI AND CELERIAC PUREE

SERVES 4

“You can’t go past lamb shanks in winter. This is served with miso for saltiness, mandarins for sweetness, brassicas for texture and a velvety smooth celeriac puree that feels like a warm hug from grandma.”

1/3 cup (80ml) sesame oil

4 lamb shanks

1 tbs plain flour

1 medium carrot, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed

6 thyme sprigs

6 mandarins, peeled, separated 2 tbs white miso paste

1/2 cup (125ml) each mirin, cooking

sake and rice wine vinegar

4 cups (1L) beef stock

30g cold unsalted butter, chopped

CELERIAC PUREE

1.5kg celeriac, peeled, roughly chopped 4 cups (1L) milk

6 garlic cloves

160g unsalted butter, chopped

FRIED BROCCOLINI

1/2 cup (125ml) sesame oil 2 bunches broccolini

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced.

Heat oil in a large heavy-based shallow ovenproof casserole with a lid over medium heat. Dust lamb shanks in flour and season. Cook, in batches, for 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Discard all but 1 tbs oil from pan. Add chopped vegetables, garlic, thyme and half the mandarin to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add miso and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add mirin, sake and rice wine vinegar and reduce by half.

Add stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Return shanks to pan and cover. Braise in oven, turning shanks halfway through, for 3 hours or until lamb is tender, well browned and sauce is reduced.

For the celeriac puree, place celeriac, milk and garlic in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover. Cover with a circle of baking paper and cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes until tender. Strain celeriac, reserving liquid (see note at left).

Place cooked celeriac and garlic with 1/3 cup (80ml) reserved liquid in a blender and whiz, regularly scraping down the side, until a thick puree forms. Slowly add chopped butter. Season and cover to keep warm.

For the broccolini, heat oil in a large frypan until just smoking. In 2 batches, carefully add broccolini and cook for 2-3 minutes until florets are crispy and stems are slightly browned (be careful as oil will spit). Transfer to a plate as you go and cover with foil to keep warm. Once all broccolini is done, fry chilli for

1 minute, then add to broccolini, discarding oil. Season to taste.

Using tongs, transfer shanks to a plate and cover to keep warm. Strain liquid into a large frypan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat (keep caramelised vegetables, discarding thyme sprigs, to add to a bolognese or pasta sauce or just enjoy on a piece of toast). Add butter and remaining mandarin segments to pan and cook until thick and glossy.

To serve, place generous amounts of celeriac puree on serving plates. Top with 3-4 stems of broccolini and a lamb shank, and spoon over sauce and mandarins.