There’s nothing quite like a hearty casserole and this delicious dish is a guaranteed winner. While the dinner takes a while to cook, the wait is definitely worth it.

Preparing your tasty creation only takes around 20 minutes, leaving around two hours for the casserole to slowly simmer – making the meat so tender it will fall off the bone. After all, there’s nothing more inviting than the smell of a deliciously home-cooked meal. So when your guests or family start sniffing the mouthwatering scent of the casserole, they’ll know they’re in for a treat. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 6 (1.8kg) trimmed lamb shanks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 brown onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
• 200g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 400g can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 large zucchini, roughly chopped
• Mashed potato, to serve
• Salt, to season

Method

1. Add flour and shanks to ziplock bag. Season well with salt and pepper. Seal. Shake to coat.
2. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Add shanks. Cook in batches for about 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Heat second half of oil in pan. Cook onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms and celery for about 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tomato paste. Stir well to combine. Pour in wine, tomato and stock. Stir to combine.
4. Add shanks to mixture. Cover. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Leave to simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. Uncover. Add zucchini. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is falling off the bone. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle onto serving plate. Serve with mashed potato.