Kitchen Greatest Hits: Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Tamarind and Dates
Nigel Barden shares his favourite recipes
Chef Nigel Barden joins Simon Mayo's Drivetime Show to create delicious recipes for Kitchen Greatest Hits.
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Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Tamarind and Dates
This week's recipe is Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Tamarind and Dates from Ali Bilton Cooks by chef Ali Bilton. Nigel describes the dish as: "a winter warmer", and has chosen it because of all the interesting flavours which compliment the tender lamb.
The recipe includes a side of roasted winter veg, which could be swapped for courgettes, peppers, new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and any other vegetables you like in the summer.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 red onions peeled and cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 carrots, peeled and grated
110ml red wine
2 sprigs rosemary
1 small red chilli, deseeded and sliced
40ml balsamic vinegar
40ml soy sauce
110ml tamarind paste
vegetable stock, approximately 500ml
170g pitted dates, roughly chopped
Roast Vegetables (To serve)
3tbsp smoked rapeseed oil (or any rapeseed oil)
250g white potato or sweet potato scrubbed and cut into chunks
1 carrot peeled and chopped into thick batons
125g swede, peeled and cut into chunks
½ butternut squash, peeled and deseeded and cut into chunks
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into thick batons
3 stalks thyme
5 cloves garlic, bashed
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas3.
Brown the lamb shanks all over in 1 tbsp of the rapeseed oil in a deep casserole dish. Remove and keep warm.
Lightly brown the onions and garlic with the remaining, return the lamb to the pan, add the wine, and bring to the boil.
Add the remaining ingredients, except for the dates, with enough stock to cover and place in the oven for 2 hours.
Remove from the oven, skim as much fat as you can from the top, then add the dates. Return to the oven for 20 minutes. Skim the fat off again if necessary.
Serve with roasted vegetables and some crisp green beans.
When ready serve with coconut yogurt and coriander alongside.
For the Roast Vegetables
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas5.
In an ovenproof pan, heat the smoked oil and quickly brown the potato, carrot, swede, butternut squash and parsnip. Add the thyme and garlic and place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning them over after 30 minutes of cooking.
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