Spring lamb is a treat.  Pale pink meat, sweet and tender.  As the season progresses, lamb puts on a little  weight – out in the fields grazing on plentiful summer grass.  This helps the flavour of the meat become more fully developed.  Late summer is one of the best times to enjoy lamb, in our view. Lamb Shanks make an economic buy and superb eating. These meaty joints from the narrow end of the leg are good  for slow cooking.   Pick them up at your local butcher for a price that won’t pinch the purse.  Which is exactly what we did this week.  (Check our Approved Provider Butchers for a shop near you.)   A slow cooker is the ideal implement for cooking lamb shanks – especially if you are working. You can put them on in the morning and by the time you get home in the evening,  the meat will be meltingly tender and falling off the bone. Your kitchen filled with aromas of a feast to come.  Our shanks were cooked with onions, garlic, a little stock, a can of chopped tomatoes, paprika and a little chilli for pokey heat.  Some fresh basil leaves added extra fragrance at the end of cooking time. Great with new season Kerr Pink potatoes, steamed till popping out of their skins,  or mashed if you prefer.