Oven Roasted Lamb Shanks with Black Currant and Toasted Almond Sauce and Potato Black Truffle Gratin

Ingredients

• 4 small lamb shanks
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup dried black currants
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season each shank with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and sear the shanks. Remove once browned. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook until lightly golden brown. Return the shanks to the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock and cranberry juice and season with salt and pepper. Bake covered in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until the shanks are very tender. Remove the shanks from the pot and strain the sauce mixture into a clean small saucepan. Over medium heat, swirl in the butter, currants and almonds and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

• Potato-Black Truffle Gratin
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 black truffle, thinly shaved
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 4 teaspoons black truffle oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the cream in a small saucepan with a few shavings of the black truffle and bring to a simmer. Remove and let steep for 10 minutes. Butter a baking dish and place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Ladle 1/4 cup of the cream over the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the black truffle oil. Repeat 4 times. Bake the gratin for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Garnish each square with a shaving of black truffle.