With Executive Sous Chef Bình Vũ from Novotel Suites Hanoi

Slow-cooked lamb shanks in red wine

Ingredients:
- 6 lamb shanks, about 550 grams each
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons crushed black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups dry red wine (about 1 bottle)
- 2 heads garlic, halved crosswise
- 4 ribs celery, cut into large dice
- 4 carrots, cut into large dice
- 1 large onion, peeled, cut into about 8 wedges
- 1 cup thickly sliced button mushrooms
- Five 8cm sprigs of fresh rosemary

Executive Sous Chef Bình Vũ

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Season the shanks with salt and pepper before cooking for 30 minutes.
• In a large, high-sided ovenproof pot, heat the oil until barely smoking. Sear the shanks in batches on all sides until golden brown.
• Put all the shanks in the pot; add the peppercorns, bay leaves, stock, wine, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, and mushrooms.
• Put the pot in the oven and cook, turning the shanks every 30 minutes, until the meat is very tender but still on the bone, about 2 hours.
• Take out the shanks, some mushrooms and onions from the pot, keep them on the side with foil.
• Strain the braising liquid into a medium saucepan, degrease carefully, and simmer gently until its flavour is intensified and volume is reduced by about a third.
• Serve the shanks on top of the roasted garlic and mashed potato; ladle the sauce over the lamb. Serve some of the mushrooms and onions on the side.

You can enjoy the dish and other food creations by Chef Bình Vũ at the Food Exchange restaurant, 2nd floor, 5 Duy Tân Street, Cầu Giấy District, Hà Nội. Tel: (024) 35766666.