Place the Lamb shanks in a pan, pour in enough of the porcini stock to cover them. Add the herbs, place on a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat right down and gently poach until the meat is soft and shrunken away slightly from the bone.
Melt the butter in another large pan, add the lamb and brown all over. Add the honey and cook so it coats the shanks. Add the wine and cook off the alcohol for 2 minutes, Add the leeks, carrots, turnips and celery. Pour in enough of the meat stock to cover the vegetables and add the beans. Simmer until the vegetables are just cooked.
Warm 4 plates, I like soup plates, place a shank in each, add the vegetables and beans then ladle over the meat stock. Top with croutons and drizzle with the pesto.
Note – change the vegetables as the seasons change, go for asparagus, green beans and peas even cabbage as summer approaches.
• 4 small Welsh lamb shanks (enough to cover)
• 1–1.5l meat stock (cube is ok)
• 1 Porcini stock cube (‘Star’ is the brand available from Wally’s Deli)
• 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of rosemary and 2 sprigs of parsley
• 25g Castle Dairies butter (traditional salted)
• 1 rounded teaspoon Welsh honey
• 100ml white wine – I used lovely Cariad medium dry wine
• 4 thin carrots cut in half lengthways, or 2 medium ones, thinly sliced
• 4 baby leeks cleaned thoroughly, or 1 medium leek cut into chunks
• 2 medium turnips, peeled and quartered (smaller if the turnips are large)
• 2 sticks celery, peeled and sliced
• 1 can of cannellini beans (use some of the cooking juice in the can)
• Pesto – 2 fat cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon pine nuts, 12 stems flat leaf parsley, some mint leaves, 1 heaped tablespoon of Parmesan and about 100ml olive oil, whizz together
• Croutons – ½ a ciabatta load, roughly broken up, drizzled with olive oil and baked at 200c/gas 6 until golden