Braised Lamb in Mediterranean Tomato Sauce

This is an ´Osso Buco´ style of cooking braised lamb in a rich sauce of tomato and dried fruit. Recommend serving with cous cous.

Rub lamb with salt, pepper, and paprika; let stand for one hour at room temp. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat lamb with sifted flour. In large pre-heated pan, add olive oil and brown lamb on all sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Then remove and set in large roasting pan with cover (Dutch oven) with bones facing up. In the same pan, brown the onion, celery, carrots, basil, and thyme. When vegetables are softened, add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Then add red wine to deglaze the pan. Let wine cook down until reduced. Stir in meat stock, prunes, tomatoes, and paste. Add Salt and pepper. Pour broth mix over top of the shanks. Let cook covered in oven for at least 2-3 hours. Transfer lamb to serving platter, cover with aluminum foil, and let stand in warming drawer or oven at 180 degrees. Skim the fat off the top of the sauce in the roasting pan. Place roasting pan on stove over medium heat and cook down until a thick sauce remains (approximately 30 minutes). Season to taste. Serve over cous cous.