Slow cooked, braised lamb neck garnished with gremolata

Slow cooked, braised lamb necks in a scrumptious sauce, made with our home-made beef or chicken stock adds such a depth of flavour.  Garnished with a gremolata and lemon slices this lamb makes a wonderful winter dinner served with creamed cauliflower and wok tossed mixed greens.  As with any meat that you cook on the bone, such as oxtail, short rib, it is extremely flavourful, and it is still inexpensive.
Serves: 6 servings

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
The night before cooking, season the lamb well with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.  When ready to cook, bring the lamb back to room temperature.
For all long braises, the method is to first sear the meat, add the aromatics, red wine, and stock, and let it cook slowly, until fall-off-the-bone tender.
Heat about 50ml olive oil and 20 grams butter in a deep, heavy-based Dutch oven or oven proof pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add the lamb neck in a single layer, being careful not to overload the pan; you do not want to reduce the temperature in the pan as that causes the meat to stew rather than sear and caramelise.  It is important to get a good colour on the lamb to give a good flavour to the braise.  So you may have to cook the necks in batches if your pan is not large enough for them all to cook at once.  Sear on both sides until well browned.
Remove the lamb necks, wipe the pan, and add more oil and butter to the pan. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes until golden and caramelised, then carrot, celery and garlic; continue cooking, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned another 8 – 10 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine and vinegar, and cook, stirring and scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, thyme and rosemary. Return the lamb neck to the pot, bring the liquid to a boil, cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook, turning the lamb once, until fall-off-the-bone fork tender, about 2 hours.
If you would like to reduce the sauce for a more intense flavour, remove the lamb from the cooking liquid. Strain the liquid and add to a clean pot. Cook over medium-high heat until somewhat reduced and the juice has thickened and become more flavourful.
Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
For the Gremolata: combine the lemon zest, garlic and parsley in a bowl; set aside.   Sprinkle over the finished dish as a garnish.  You could also add some grated parmigiano regianno or another tasty cheese.
To serve:  sprinkle the lamb necks with the gremolata and lemon slices or preserved lemons juliennes and some torn fresh parsley leaves.