About three years ago, before BB was even a person, Husband, Sausage and I went to Strada for dinner after a shopping trip. Strada is a chain of restaurants which serves modern Italian cuisine and on this particular trip, I had something called Agnello Brasato, which was basically a lamb shank which had been slow cooked in a tomato and red wine sauce and served with creamy mash and broccoli. For ages, I’ve been craving the meal again, so I decided to try to recreate it myself, with lovely results (although, as usual, my food presentation and photography leaves a lot to be desired!).
Here’s how I made Slow Cooker Lamb Shank in Red Wine and Tomato Sauce (Agnello Brasato):
- 4 lamb shanks
- 4 (400g) tins chopped tomatoes
- 2 glass red wine
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 medium onions, chopped
- A pinch salt and pepper, for seasoning
- pinch dried thyme
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- About 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 150ml chicken stock
- Brown each of your lamb shanks before placing in your slow cooker (this step is optional)
- In a pan, add the onions and garlic and fry until translucent
- Add the red wine, rosemary, thyme and stock and bring to the boil
- Add the salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 2 minutes and then pour over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker
- Cook on low for 6 hours or until lamb is falling off of the bone
- Serve with mashed potatoes and greens of your choice (we went for broccoli, but asparagus would also work well) and a few spoonfuls of the tomato stew
I can honestly say that this was just as nice (if not nicer!) than the one that I had a Strada all those years ago and definitely satisfied my cravings. The lamb came out so incredibly tender and the sauce was wonderfully rich and flavoursome. There was a load of sauce left in the pot after cooking and I froze it to use at a later date as a ragu to have with pasta. Let me know if you give this a go, I’d love to hear how yours turns out.
