Ingredients :

• Lamb shanks — Choose them meaty, with the skin still in place — it will melt during cooking and naturally enrich the sauce. Around 300 to 400g each is a nice individual portion. If you can get them from a butcher rather than a supermarket, the difference in quality shows during cooking.
• The stock — Beef stock for more depth, vegetable stock if you want something lighter. Avoid overly salty cubes that mask the natural aromas of the meat. Homemade or a good store-bought brand in a carton is ideal — not the bottom of a packet from 2022.
• Tomato paste — Not there to give a tomato taste, but for color and structure. Sauté it for one to two minutes in the hot pot before adding liquids — this caramelizes it slightly, the smell becomes almost toasted, and it changes everything about the final richness of the sauce.
• Honey — Optional on paper, essential in practice. A teaspoon is enough. It balances the acidity of the tomato paste and gives the sauce that slightly lacquered shine seen in good restaurants. Wildflower, acacia — whatever you have on hand.