Spread the olive oil on the lamb shanks, and sprinkle them with the salt, pepper and paprika. Put them in an ovenproof dish, under the grill in a 2400C preheated oven and let them cook until golden, for approximately 10 minutes on each side.
Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and put them aside in a strainer for approximately 10 minutes to get rid of their bitterness. Rinse well and dry.
Sauté the eggplants with the onions, garlic, bay leaves, pink pepper, cumin, chili and oregano. As soon as they golden, add the tomato paste, wine, water, sugar and salt. Let the whole simmer for 30 minutes.
Cover the meat with the sauce and cook covered for approximately 1½ – 2 hours in a 2200C preheated oven or until the meat separates from the bone.
Chef’s tip: The sauce and the meat can be prepared from the day before and simply warm the meat up again on the day you wish to serve it.
Ingredients:
4 lamb shanks, paprika
olive oil, salt, pepper
For the sauce:
4 eggplants cut into 4
3 medium sized red onions chopped, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 4 bay leaves
½ tsp pink pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp powdered cumin
½ tsp powdered cinnamon
½ tsp dried chili flakes
½ cup tomato paste
500ml water
500ml white, dry wine
1 tsp sugar, salt
½ tsp black pepper
