Balsamic braised sticky lamb shanks + fried capers & fennel seeds + BBQ grilled spuds

What do you guys think about this one?

>> Ingredients

1. Lamb & vege slow cook

• 4 lamb shanks
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 10-15 baby carrots
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 5 tablespoons balsamic reduction
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 6 bay leaves
• 5 chopped parsnips

1. BBQ grilled baby spuds

• 1.5kg baby potatoes
• olive oil & salt

1. Caper and fennel seed topping

• cooking oil
• 5 tablespoons of capers
• 3 tablespoons fennel seeds

>> Instructions (in order)

1. Lamb & vege

• Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Sear in the pan on max heat with oil. Go hard on the sear as the browned and blackened bits give a good textural variation later. Transfer seared lamb to slow cooker.
• In the same pan sear on max heat, chopped onion, minced garlic, baby carrots, and chopped parsnip. Cook until there's some charring. Deglaze with balsamic vinegar, and beef stock. Add in the rest of the ingredients from part 1. Simmer for ~3 minutes. Transfer all ingredients to slow cooker.
• Slow cook for 3-5 hours, until the shanks are almost falling apart

1. The spuds

Here's your new favorite way to cook spuds. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

• Microwave spuds for 15-20 minutes. Poke with a fork to see that they're soft and cooked. If not soft, back in the microwave for longer. With a view to minimizing dishes, I cook these in the cardboard box they come in.
• Transfer cooked spuds to your BBQ. Cover with oil and salt. Cook until you have nice caramelization on the spuds. I use and love this olive oil mister from ali express, which also makes a good xmas gift.

1. Caper and fennel seed topping

• Add a few glugs of oil to a pan on medium heat. Add in capers and pan fry for 2-3 minutes until they sort of blossom and the edges brown. Add in fennel seeds and pan fry for 1-2 minutes until there's a little bit of browning on the seeds.
• (If you can be bothered), strain capers and seeds and pour out oil. This'll make them a bit crispier, but the downside is more dishes to clean.

1. Serving it up

I like this one family style rather than plated.

• Transfer lamb and veg to a big plate. Use a little bit of the slow cook juices, but don't leave it swimming. Pour over fried capers and fennel seeds as a topping.
• Serve spuds separate in a bowl.
• If you're feeling light on greens, you could whip up a simple salad. Maybe either:
  • (i) Peckham pear slices, arugula (aka rocket), shaved parmesan, olive oil & salt or,
  • (ii) cucumber, cos, dill, feta, lemon, olive oil & salt.

Ingredient substitutions and cook timing

• On ingredient substitutions there's no right or wrong. The fact of the matter is tender meat with a good balance of salt, sweet, vinegar (umami), and fat go down a treat. Don't overthink it.
• All slow cookers are different. My modus operandi is, when in doubt start the cook early. You can leave it on warm, but you can't speed it up. Worst case scenario (if overcooked), the lamb shanks full apart and you tell guests it's "pulled lamb".