Viva Italia! pot

Serves 6

• 60 ml (¼ c) olive or avocado oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 250 g (1 c) flour
• 4 (about 1.5 kg) shanks, cut into 3cm pieces
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250 ml (1 c) red wine
• 2 x 410g cans whole peeled tomatoes, mashed with a fork
• 250 ml (1 c) stock
• handful of thyme
• handful of oregano
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 handfuls of green beans, side cut

Gremolata

• Handful of parsley
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 Season the flour to taste, roll the meat in the flour and fry until brown in the oil in the pot.

2 Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic and fry until brown. Season to taste.

3 Add the red wine, tomatoes, stock, thyme, oregano and lemon zest. Cover and simmer for about 2½ hours until the meat is tender.

4 Place the beans on top, cover and simmer for 15-30 minutes until the beans are cooked.

5 Gremolata: Mix the parsley, garlic and lemon, sprinkle over the pot just before you serve it with creamy polenta.