Delia Smith Lamb Shanks Food

BAKED LAMB WITH ROSEMARY, WITH REDCURRANT AND MINT SAUCE

Steps:

• First of all, crush the garlic and sea salt together to a purée, using a pestle and mortar, then add the oil, chopped rosemary and a good seasoning of pepper and mix well. Next, spread a large sheet of foil over the roasting tin, place the lamb on it and stab the fleshy parts of the joint several times with a skewer. Now spread the rosemary mixture all over the upper surface of the lamb and tuck in a sprig of rosemary (as this makes a nice garnish later). Then bring the edges of the foil up over the lamb, make a pleat in the top and scrunch in the ends. This foil parcel should be fairly loose to allow the air to circulate. Bake the lamb for 2 hours, then open out the foil, baste the joint well with the juices and return it to the oven for a further 30 minutes to brown. The above cooking time should result in lamb very slightly pink: you can cook it for more or less time, as you prefer. Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining the redcurrant jelly and vinegar in a small saucepan and whisking over a gentle heat, till the jelly melts into the vinegar (a balloon whisk does this perfectly). Then add the chopped mint and some seasoning and pour into a jug - the sauce doesn't need to be warm. When the lamb is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving. Discard the foil, spoon off the fat and make some gravy with the juices left in the tin: add the white wine, stir and let it bubble until it has become syrupy. Season with salt and pepper if it needs it and pour into a warmed serving jug.

SLOW COOKED LAMB SHANKS IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
• Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
• In a large frying pan brown the lamb shanks on all sides in the olive oil; remove from pan and put into a large casserole dish to keep warm.
• In the same frying pan put in the carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary and cook slowly until nicely colored.
• Pour in the red wine, beef stock, and brown sugar into the frying pan and stir gently bringing it to a low boil.
• Pour the wine mixture over the lamb shanks; top up with water if needed.
• Cover; put in oven and cook for 2 1/2 - 3 hours until very tender.
• Remove the lamb shanks and keep warm and skim the fat off the top of the red wine juices.
• Mix together the cornflour with just a bit of cold water and whisk the cornflour mixture into the red wine juices until desired consistency.
• Serve up on individual plates and enjoy.

AROMATIC LAMB SHANK STEW

Steps:

• Put 3 tablespoons of the oil into a very large, wide, heavy-bottomed pan and warm over medium heat. Brown the lamb shanks, in batches, in the pan and then remove to a roasting pan or whatever else you've got at hand to sit them in.
• Peel the onions and garlic and process in a food processor or chop them finely by hand. Add the remaining oil to the pan, and fry the onion-garlic mush until soft, sprinkling salt over to stop it sticking.
• Stir in the turmeric, ground ginger, chile, cinnamon and nutmeg and season with some freshly ground pepper. Stir again, adding the honey, soy sauce and Marsala. Put the shanks back in the pan, add cold water almost to cover, bring to the boil then put a lid on the pan, lower the heat and simmer very gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.
• Add the red lentils and cook for about 20 minutes longer with the lid, until the lentils have softened into the sauce and the juices have reduced and thickened slightly. Check for seasoning.
• Toast the nuts by heating them for a few minutes in a dry frying pan, and sprinkle onto the lamb as you serve it.
• Fill the bottom of a steamer, or base of a couscoussier should you possess one, with water and bring to a boil. When it looks like it's almost ready to boil, fill the kettle and put it on, then empty the couscous into a glass bowl, add the salt, crush in the cardamom and mix with your fingers, then pour over a quart of boiling water from the kettle and place a plate on top of the bowl. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, then drain and empty into the steamer or couscoussier top and sit this on top of the boiling water beneath. Add the slices of butter on top of the couscous then clamp on the lid and let steam for about 7 to 10 minutes, by which time the couscous should be tenderly cooked and the butter melting. (You can do this a simpler way if you prefer, by just steeping the couscous in the boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes, but the grains will be more dense and more likely to clump. It's not disastrous, however, and you must decide what you're prepared to do.)
• Meanwhile, toast the almonds by frying them in a dry pan until fragrant and golden, remove them to a plate, then do the same to the pine nuts. Chop the pistachios. Once the couscous is cooked, tip the bowl, fork through (and always use a fork for mixing or fluffing up couscous; a spoon will crush it and turn it stodgy), sprinkling in the almonds and pine nuts as you do so (and taste for seasoning at the same time, too). Now fork in most of the pistachios, and sprinkle those that remain lightly on top.

AUTUMN LAMB BRAISED IN BEAUJOLAIS

Steps:

• First, pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into the shallow roasting tray and put it into the oven as it pre-heats. Then prepare all the vegetables as follows: scrub the carrots, turnips, and potatoes; top and tail the carrots and turnips, leaving the carrots whole but chopping the turnips (with skins left on) into quarters, and cut the potatoes lengthways into 4 pieces (unpeeled). Now peel the parsnips and cut them into halves; and finally peel the shallots but leave them whole. Now dry the vegetables thoroughly in a clean tea cloth. When the oven is up to temperature, carefully remove the roasting tray, using an oven glove to protect your hands. Place this over a direct medium heat on the hob and spoon the prepared vegetables and the unpeeled garlic into the fat. Turn them over to make sure they are well coated and return the tray to the top shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning them over at half time so that they roast evenly. While they are in the oven, prepare the lamb by placing it in the roasting tin and rubbing the joint all over with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, some crushed sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper. When the vegetables are nicely tinged brown at the edges, remove them from the oven and set aside. Place the roasting tin with the lamb in the oven, on the highest shelf that will take it, and let it start to roast for 30 minutes or until it has turned a good golden colour. Take the lamb out of the oven, then reduce the temperature to gas mark 3, 325ºF (170ºC) and spoon off any fat to use later. Place the roasting tin over a medium heat on top of the stove, pour in the Beaujolais and baste the meat with it. Then sprinkle with the chopped thyme and rosemary. As soon as the wine begins to bubble, turn off the heat and cover the whole tin with a tent of foil (without it touching the meat). Fold the foil tight under the rim of the tin and replace it in the oven - on the centre shelf this time - and let it continue cooking for 1½ hours. When the time is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and once again transfer it to direct heat. Carefully remove the foil and baste the meat well with the wine. Spoon the browned vegetables all around in the wine, season them with salt and freshly milled black pepper and pop in the sprigs of thyme and rosemary and the bay leaf. When it has come back to simmering point, replace the foil and cook for a further 1½ hours. After that, remove the meat and vegetables to warmed serving dishes, discarding the sprigs of herbs, then cover to keep warm. Place the roasting tin over direct heat once more and let the sauce reduce. Squeeze the garlic pulp out of the skins into the sauce and whisk this in along with the redcurrant jelly. Taste and season the sauce with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then pour it into a warm serving jug. Sprinkle the lamb and vegetables with the parsley or thyme and serve.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Pour the oil in a casserole dish or roasting tray large enough to fit all the shanks. With the pan set over a high heat on the hob, spend a good 10 mins browning the lamb all over.
• Remove the lamb, add the onion and carrot and cook for 10 mins until starting to brown. Stir in the herbs and garlic and cook for a few mins more. Stir in the flour and tomato purée, season well then pour over the wine and stock.
• Return the lamb shanks to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid or tightly with foil and cook in the oven, undisturbed, for 1½-2 hrs until lamb is tender. Remove the lamb from the sauce and set aside.
• Put pan back on the hob and bubble the sauce down for about 15 mins until rich and glossy. Pass through a sieve into a jug. The lamb and sauce can be stored in the fridge for two days or frozen for one month. To serve, reheat the lamb in the sauce, adding a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.