Middle Eastern Lamb Shanks

By Claudine Noppe

When I was younger I thought that the sign of a fancy restaurant was whether or not they had lamb shanks on the menu. Growing up, we mostly did the Spur thing on the rare occasions that we went out for dinner. On the odd birthday or Mother’s day we would go to a slightly nicer restaurant and there would always be lamb shanks on the menu. In my eyes, lamb shanks were the cat’s pajama’s. Later in life I realized that not every ‘fancy’ restaurant can cook a shank well.

Lamb shank can be very tough due to the fact that it is cut from the just below the leg to the top of the knee joint. Think of it as the bottom quarter of the thigh. It contains a large bone through the center of it which adds all the flavour and collagen goodness. Shank needs to be cooked low and slow because of the large amount of connective tissue found in this cut. The only way to achieve that fall off the bone, melt in your mouth, tenderness is to be patient and kind to it. Don’t be discouraged when you see the whole raw shank for the first time. It may look like a scarily big piece of meat, but with this recipe you will easily conquer the lamb shank.

The lamb shank lends itself fantastically to big bold flavors! Think about all the rich red wine based lamb shanks and Moroccan tagine’s. I have Greek heritage so we make our lamb shanks with tons of fresh tomatoes, red peppers, crispy potatoes and countless wheels of feta. The fatty meat of the shank stands up to all those deep flavours. For this recipe I opted for something between Greek shanks and a tagine. I made a Middle Eastern style spice mixture that subtly flavours the sauce with the warmth of paprika and the sweetness of cinnamon. Olives add a briny taste while the tomatoes add some acidity and richness to the sauce. When this dish is in the oven it makes the whole house smell like Christmas. My family and I were practically drooling by the time the shanks were ready! I served mine with a jeweled rice made with basmati rice, chopped herbs, toasted nuts and pomegranate rubies. However, my dad remarked that all you need with this dish is warm flatbreads to soak up all the sauce. Cous cous will also be a perfect accompaniment.

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 Ingredients:

For the Spice mix:

·         10 ml paprika

·         10 ml cumin

·         5 ml dried coriander

·         2.5 ml cinnamon

·         2.5 ml nutmeg

·         1.25 ml fine cardamom (if you don’t have fine cardamom, just add 2-3 of the pods to the sauce)

·         1.25 ml dried ginger

·         1.25 ml fine cloves

For the shank dish:

Serves 4 – 6 people (we are a family of three and ate twice from this)

·         2 lamb shanks

·         2 red onions, roughly chopped

·         All of the spice mix

·         1 tin chopped tomatoes

·         3 tablespoons green olives (pitted)

·         3 cloves of garlic

·         Thumb size piece of fresh ginger

·         Beef stock sachet

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 120°C. In a cast iron pot that can be used on the stove and placed in the oven, brown the shanks on all sides on the stove. Remember to add some salt while browning.

2. Remove the shanks from the pot and add the red onions and spice mix. Fry in the rendered lamb fat for a few seconds and then add the can of tomatoes. Turn the heat off.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the lamb shanks, and about two cans of water. I always just wash out my tomato can with tap water and pour it into the pot. Place in the oven, with the lid on and slow roast for 3 - 4 hours or until the meat falls from the bone.

4. Serve with your desired side dish and enjoy!