Braised Lamb Shanks

• 2 tbsp flour
• salt and ground black pepper
• 8 lamb shanks
• 3 tbsp oil
• 4 whole heads garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• few drops hot pepper sauce
• 1½ cups (375ml) full-bodied red wine
• 1 cup port
• 2 sprigs rosemary, stalks removed and leaves chopped
• 2 cups beef or lamb stock

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place flour in a clean plastic bag with salt and a generous grind of pepper. Add shanks and shake to lightly coat.

Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan and brown shanks in batches. Transfer to a large baking dish along with garlic halves.

Discard excess fat from pan, add tomato paste and cook a minute or two to let the flavour develop. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a fast simmer. Stir well to lift any pan sediments then pour over meat. Cover and bake for 2 hours (or if serving at once and not reheating, cook for 2½-3 hours or until very tender).

Cool, chill then remove any fat that sits on top. To reheat, bring back to room temperature then cook a further 1 hour at 160°C. Serve shanks with a garlic half and sauce. Accompany with mash and peas and beans.