Lamb Shank Tagine
Tender Australian lamb shanks, paired with exotic middle eastern spices. A marriage made in heaven? We think so. ALL the ingredients for this recipe are now available at your local Ritchies supermarket. Find your local VIC, NSW or QLD store.
Serves
4Preparation time
20 minsCooking time
120 minsIngredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 lamb shanks
- medium brown onions, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 3 sticks celery, chopped
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sticks cinnamon or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup dried chick peas
- 1 x 800g tin of crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted dried prunes
- 1 cup water
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Using a large saute or frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a medium high heat add the lamb shanks and brown them all over. Remove them from the heat, add the water to the hot pan and deglaze the pan (remove any flavour filled browned bits) reserve the deglazed flavoured water. Using a large oven proof casserole on a low to medium heat add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the onion, cook gently until soft and starting to change colour. Add the garlic, carrot and celery and cook for another 1-2 minutes stirring often. Add all the spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and fresh ginger) and cook for another 1 minute to release their aromatics. Pour in the tomatoes and add the chickpeas and bay leaves. Nestle the lamb shanks in the spicy sauce and top up with as much of the deglazed water as will fit in your casserole. Cover the casserole and bake in the oven for about 2 hours (top up with a little water if it gets too dry) in the last 15 minutes of cooking add the prunes. The shanks are done when the meat falls off the bone, the sauce has reduced and the chickpeas are tender. Serve with steamed couscous or rice and a mixed
salad.
