Braised Lamb Shanks with Oven-Dried Campari Tomato, Feta & Mint

Serve this recipe over mashed potatoes, soft polenta or risotto. If lamb shanks are unavailable, 3 pounds of cubed lamb shoulder maybe substituted.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

• 2 lbs. Windset Farms™ Campari Tomatoes, slice in half
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ground pepper
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme

Lamb Shanks

• 6 lamb shanks, 10-16 oz. each
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 3 Windset Farms™ Virtuoso™ Beefsteak Tomatoes
• kosher salt
• ground pepper
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 onion, halved
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 oz. feta, crumbled
• 5 leaves fresh mint, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and place Windset Farms™ Campari tomatoes on top. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and ground pepper. Place thyme sprigs on top. Bake for 2 hours, remove from oven and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, prepare lamb shanks. Heat large casserole dish over medium/high heat and add canola oil. Brown lamb shanks on all sides and season with salt and pepper. Remove shanks, add onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Add red wine and reduce slightly. Add Windset Farms™ Virtuoso™ tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, fresh thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and add back the lamb shanks. Cover casserole with lid and place in the 325ºF oven. Braise lamb shanks for 2½ to 3 hours, or until meat is almost falling off the bone. Remove shanks from the braising liquid and strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve. Lamb shanks recipe can be prepared up to this point 2-3 days ahead. Store shanks in braising liquid.
4. To serve, remove fat from the top of braising liquid and reduce sauce if so desired. Reheat shanks in braising liquid over medium heat. Scatter half of the oven-dried Windset Farms™ Campari tomatoes on a serving platter.  Place shanks on the platter and add sauce.
5. Scatter  feta and mint on top and serve.