Braised lamb shank with summer vegetables This should feed four hungry people. 4 lamb shanks 8 baby carrots 4 sticks of celery (peel the outside) 1 red onion 2 cloves of garlic 150g Swiss chard (or spinach) 4 baby leeks (or spring onions) 2 small cups of raw fresh peas 4 anchovy fillets 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 sprig of rosemary A half-bottle of drinkable dry white wine Half a litre of chicken stock Using a thick bottomed casserole pan, heat it gently on top of the stove. Dice the carrots, onion, garlic, celery and leeks very finely. Roll the shanks in a little olive oil and brown them all over in the pan. Add the diced vegetables and soften. Pour in enough wine to cover the vegetables, add the same amount of stock. Add the herbs with some salt and pepper, and also the anchovy fillets. Add the peas. Place the lid on the pan and cook at 175C (Gas mark 3/4)for two-and-a-half hours. Five minutes before the lamb has finished cooking, wilt the chard or spinach in some salted water. This can go to the plate with a little cracked pepper with one of the shanks. Then correct the consistency of the broth remaining in the pan. It should resemble a thick soup. Pour the vegetables over the shank and serve to those hungry mouths. Some of you may think that the anchovy is a strange thing to add to a dish like this but it is an integral part of the seasoning and will dissolve during the cooking process. This adds a very Italian quirk to the dish.