Sunday lunch with friends menu

The menu

• Main course

  Roasted lamb shanks

• Side dishes

  Dauphinoise potatoes

• Side dishes

  Braised red cabbage with apples and sherry vinegar

• Side dishes

  Crisp winter slaw

• Desserts

  James' sticky toffee pudding

Menu ingredients

Serves 6

• Fruit and vegetables

  • 1 carrot, peeled, cut in half

  • 1 onion, peeled, cut in half

  • 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed lightly

  • bunch fresh thyme

  • small bunch fresh rosemary

  • 1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes, peeled and placed in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning (use floury potatoes such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree)

  • 3-4 cloves garlic

  • 1 medium onion, finely sliced

  • 2 dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced

  • 1kg/2¼lb red cabbage, finely sliced

  • ½ red cabbage

  • 1 bulb fennel

  • 1 stick celery

  • 1 (sharp) apple

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 1 tbsp groundnut oil

• Tins, packets and jars

  • 6-10 tbsp redcurrant jelly, to taste

  • mashed potato

  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

  • 1 tbsp golden syrup

  • 1 tbsp golden syrup

• Cooking ingredients

  • 1 tbsp oil

  • 5 whole peppercorns

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 100g/4oz sultanas or raisins

  • 200ml/7fl oz sherry vinegar

  • salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 8 walnuts

  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

  • pinch salt

  • 1 tbsp walnut oil

  • 170g/6oz demerara sugar

  • 2 tbsp black treacle

  • 200g/7oz self-raising flour, plus extra for flouring

  • 200g/7oz pitted dates

  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

  • 55g/2oz dark muscovado sugar

  • 2 tbsp black treacle

• Drinks

  • 750ml/1¼ pints red wine

• Dairy, eggs and chilled

  • 500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)

  • 50g/2oz butter

  • 100g/3½oz Stilton

  • 55g/2oz butter, plus extra for greasing

  • 2 free-range eggs

  • 110ml/4fl oz double cream

  • 55g/2oz butter, diced

• Meat, fish and poultry

  • 6 lamb shanks, trimmed

• Other

  • boiled seasonal vegetables

  • 290ml/10fl oz boiling water

  • vanilla ice cream, to serve