Stinco d'Agnello      alla Cacciatora Pugliese Lamb Shanks in the Style of the Hunter of Puglia Lamb Shanks take several hours to cook in order to soften the tough meat of the leg muscles. The end result is a rewarding dish full of flavor. This recipe is similar to most "Cacciatore" recipes with the exception of the Anchovy filets. Don't be put off by this ingredient. Using only 2 filets, the dish will not actually taste like Anchovies, but it will add a certain "deeper" flavor to the dish. Also note the use of Vinegar OR Vermouth. Most cooks would probably use Red Wine. The high acidity of the vinegar is especially suited to the toughness of this sort of meat. Serve this dish with small pasta shells such as "Orecchietti" OR "Conchiglie Rigate". The shanks also go well with plain White Rice. 5-6  Lamb Shanks 4 Tbls Olive Oil 1/2 cup Onion (finely chopped) 1 large Carrot (finely chopped) 1 rib of Celery (finely chopped) 1 tsp Garlic (finely minced) 2 Anchovy filets (mashed) 1/4 cup  Red Wine Vinegar OR Red Vermouth 8 oz plain Tomato Sauce or 4 tbls Paste diluted to make 1 cup 2 -3 cups water 5 pitted Black Olives (chopped) 3/4 tsp dried Thyme 1 Bay Leaf 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp ground Black Pepper 1/2 cup finely chopped Parsley 1.  Heat pan, add oil, brown Lamb shanks, remove and set aside 2.  Drain all but 1 tsp oil from pan.  Add Onion, Celery and Carrot.          Saute until onion is golden.          Add Garlic and Anchovy, saute 2 more minutes. 3.  Add Vermouth OR Vinegar.  Raise heat.  Deglaze pan.          Add Tomato Sauce or diluted Paste 4.  Place Lamb Shanks into sauce          Add Water (to come about 3/4 of the way up the Lamb)          Add Black Olives, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Salt and Pepper 5.  Cover, lower heat, simmer very slowly,           for a total of 4 hours.          [[ After about 1/2 - 1 hour, the liquid will appear to          [[ increase significantly as meat and vegetables sweat.          [[ Later, the liquid will subside and thicken. 6. After about 2 1/2 hours, turn Lamb Shanks           Recover, simmer for 1 1/2 hours more.                     During the last 1 1/2 hours,                     Check liquid every 1/2 hour.                     Add boiling water if liquid falls below 1/2" 7.  After a total of 4 hours, remove from heat, leave covered 1/2 hour.           As meat cools slightly, it will reabsorb liquid. 8.  Sprinkle parsley over meat, Serve.