• 4 lamb shanks
• 1 bottle red wine (Pinot Noir is good for lamb)
• Olive oil, for frying
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 celery sticks, chopped
• Half a garlic bulb
• 1 Star Anise
• Bouquet garni (thyme, bay and rosemary)
• 500ml chicken stock

For the pearl barley risotto

• 25ml olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
• 400g pearl barley
• 500ml chicken stock
• 100g Parmesan cheese
• 50g butter
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to season

First, place your lamb shanks into a bowl and pour the red wine all over, cover with cling film and then leave in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook the next day, heat your oven to 140°C

Take the bowl out of the fridge, remove the lamb shanks from the wine marinade and pat them dry with some kitchen towel.

Place a large heavy casserole or pot on the hob and over a high heat, add a splash of oil and then add the shanks to brown all over.

Take the shanks back out and then add the chopped vegetables, bringing the heat down a touch. Gently fry until the vegetables have softened and then add the garlic, star anise and Bouquet garni and then stir through for another couple of minutes.

Then place the lamb shanks on top and add the red wine and chicken stock, bringing the liquid up to a boil.

Cover your casserole with a lid and then pop into the oven for 3 hours, so gently braise.

Whilst the lamb is cooking, you can make a head start on the pearl barley but placing a wide pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add some oil, followed by the dice onion and celery and stir through before bringing the heat right down. Slowly cook the vegetables for 20 minutes or so, making sure they soften and really caramelise nicely to bring out some sweetness. Also get your chicken stock on the hob in a pan and start gently warming.

Add the chopped garlic and thyme to the mix and stir through for a couple of minutes before adding the pearl barley to combine.

Now begin to add a couple of ladles of the chicken stock, stirring often to help the pearl barley to soak everything up.

Continue for 30 minutes, until the stock is nearly all used up and the pearl barley has swollen up before adding the Parmesan cheese. Check for seasoning and then add some dots of butter and cover, keeping the pan warm.

When the lamb shanks are ready, remove from the casserole and keep warm. Then strain the stock, vegetables and herbs through a sieve or chinois into a saucepan. Press down on the softened vegetables with the back a spoon to extract as much flavour and juice as possible.

Place the saucepan with the red wine gravy onto the hob over a high heat until it reduces by two-thirds and thickens up nicely. Taste and check for seasoning

To serve, gently warm up the pearl barley risotto a touch, stirring in all the butter that would have melted.

Spoon a good amount into a bowl and place a lamb shank on top before adding a delicious drizzle of the red wine gravy all over.

Serve with roasted root vegetables such as carrots, parsnip or celeriac.