Serves 2
Takes 5 hours
Description
A slow cooker is an essential kitchen gadget as we enter the winter months and lambs shanks are the perfect candidate for said recipes. Spiced with Middle-Eastern flavours and served with a bejewelled cous cous to brighten up those dark evenings, the aromas and tastes are sure to bring you a much needed warmth.
Method
1. Set your slow cooker to medium heat.
2. Pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into a wide frying pan and set on a medium heat, place in the lamb shanks and fry until browned on all sides, remove and set aside.
3. Add in the onions and sweat down in the fat from the lamb until softened then add in the garlic and continue frying until the garlic is smelling fragrant, add a little extra oil if it is feeling dry.
4. Pour the onions and garlic into the slow cooker and place the lamb shanks on top. Add in all the spices, sugar and salt along with the stock. Place the lid on and slow cook for 5 hours.
5. 1 hour before the shanks are done, place the cous cous in a saucepan, season with a little salt then pour over the hot stock and add the knob of butter. Place a lid on and bring to the boil, once boiling, immediately take off the heat, keeping the lid on. Leave to sit for 10 minutes whilst the cous cous soaks up the liquid.
6. Once absorbed, transfer to a large bowl and fluff up with a fork, stir through the chopped spinach whilst the cous cous is still warm to soften slightly.
7. Add in the rest of the ingredients, retaining a small amount of dill for garnish later. Stir well so everything is combined and set aside for 15 minutes to allow all the flavours to mingle together.
8. When the lamb shanks are ready (they should be tender enough to almost fall off the bone) spoon a generous amount of the herby cous cous into a bowl and place a lamb shank on top. Drizzle over some of the meat juices from the slow cooker and garnish with the retained dill fronds. Finish with a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (optional) and enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Lamb Shanks:
• Olive oil, for frying
• 2 lamb shanks
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp harissa spice
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 400ml beef stock
For the Herby Cous Cous:
• 150g giant cous cous
• 200ml hot chicken or veg stock
• Knob of butter • Handful of spinach, roughly chopped
• ¼ red onion, finely diced
• ½ cucumber, finely diced
• 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 150g pitted black olives, halved
• 400g roasted peppers, cut into strips (we used the jarred ones but you can always roast yourself)
• 2 tsp salt
• Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
• Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• Handful of mint, roughly chopped
• Handful of dill, roughly chopped
• 50g feta cheese, crumbled
• 80g pomegranate seeds
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses