Lamb:

• 4 Medium Lamb shanks
• 4 carrots
• 1 red onion
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Garlic
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (796ml)
• 1 can chickpeas (398ml)
• 1 carton veg stock (946ml)
• ¾ cup dry lentils
• 1 tbs honey
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbs smoked paprika
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs sambal oelek
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 275C. Trim fat and silver skin from lamb shanks and season with salt and pepper liberally. Sear in a Dutch oven over medium heat with the fat and trimmings. Add 3 nubs of ginger (about 2 inches each) and 5 garlic cloves with skin on.  Pour in 946ml veg stock and 2 cinnamon sticks into the pot with the lamb and place in oven with the pot top on. Cook for 3.5 hours, checking tenderness after 2 hours.

Remove shanks and strain liquid, removing the garlic and ginger. Set liquid aside. Once cooled skim off excess fat from the top layer.

Chop carrots and ½ of the red onion and sauté in Dutch oven with the excess lamb fat and season with salt and pepper. Halve another piece of ginger (about 3 inches), 2 diced garlic cloves and 1 cinnamon stick into the pot and cook until soft. Add in 1 can of crushed tomatoes,  1 can chickpeas and the braising liquid from cooking the lamb. Add in ¾ cup of Bob’s Red Mill lentils and cook on a low – medium heat. Add in the rest of ingredients (paprika, cumin, turmeric, honey, balsamic, sambal) and let simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add lamb with one shank for each person, or tear meat off bones and put into stew to serve more.

Flatbread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup warm water
• 5 tbs melted unsalted butter

METHOD:

Mix flour, water and salt until soft dough forms, wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes. Cut dough into 6 pieces and form into balls, rest for 10 minutes. Take each ball and roll thin with rolling pin. Spread a layer of melted butter over the entire dough. Starting from one end roll it onto itself until you reach the other end. Once you have a stick like shape of the dough, flatten each end and twist the dough several times. Once you have a twisted long piece of dough, roll it into a spiral and tap lightly to flatten. Let these rest for 15 minutes. Flatten the spiral dough with rolling pin to about 2cm thick, using flour as needed. Fry each flatbread in coconut oil, once flipping add a nub of butter and removing from heat. Serve hot.

Yogurt Sauce:

• 3 fresh apricots
• 1 container plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey

METHOD:

Halve apricots, removing seeds and put into a pan with 2 tablespoons of water and honey. Cook fruit until soft over medium heat. Mash or blend fruit and set aside to cool. Once cooled add to 1 cup of yogurt and mix well. Top the lamb stew with this sauce when ready to serve.

Mint and Cilantro Oil:

METHOD:

Finely chop small handful of fresh cilantro and mint herb and cover with olive oil. Top the lamb when ready to serve.

Recipe created by Crissie Brenton