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Slow-cooked lamb shanks take a long time to cook to perfection, but the results are well worth the wait |
Why not take it slow and easy?
It’s not yet time to come out of hibernation so turn the oven down and warm the house up with a sticky stew, suggests Clare Latimer
I HAVE almost ground to a halt this month what with the dark evenings and fairly dark days as well. I know four people in their nineties, including my mum and a cousin who are feeling very down and lifeless at the moment so my advise is to just tuck into comfort food and it won’t be long before the daffodils are out.
The snowdrops in my garden have given me hope with their little white drooping heads and my chickens’ noses are turning red so eggs are on their way.
If only I was a hedgehog or dormouse and then I could just hibernate and stick my head out in the spring for a fresh start.
As this is not possible, and as I am on a go-slow, I have chosen this week to cook things that will stew along slowly and also heat the house. All this will save energy as you will hopefully not have to put the heating up during the short daylight hours.
Sticky slow lamb shanks
Lamb shanks are one of my real favourite and served with mashed potato and a seasonal vegetable such as cabbage or glazed carrots just make perfection. You could make double quantity and freeze half and this would save on energy in the kitchen and also on the electricity bill! Great for a Sunday lunch or smart dinner party.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
4 lamb shanks
8 shallots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
Rind and juice of 1 orange
5 fl oz red wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 desp of runny honey
10 fl oz chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teasp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/gas 2.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the lamb shanks and brown them on all sides. When the meat is browned add the shallots, garlic, rind of orange and stir well.
Continue to cook for three minutes on a medium heat and then add the orange juice, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, honey, chicken stock, rosemary, thyme and season with the salt and pepper. Mix again and then bring to a simmer.
Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for about four hours. Stir and then put back into the oven without the lid for a further one hour. Check the seasoning and then serve.
Slow cooked pheasant
We get to the end of the shooting season for pheasants on February 1 so here is a final recipe for this winter. I have given a varied time for cooking because if the bird is old and quite tough it will need a lot more cooking than a younger one. Just test the meat after about two hours.
Ingredients
Serves 6
2 oven ready pheasants
4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped small
1 tablespoon olive oil
50g butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 desp flour
5 fl oz sweet white wine
100g mushrooms, wiped and sliced
Half teasp smoked paprika
10 fl oz chicken stock.
Method
Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/gas 2.
Put the whole pheasants into a large heavy-based saucepan with the bacon pieces, olive oil, butter, garlic and onions and put over a medium heat to brown the birds and half cook the onions and garlic. This will take about four minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the flour and stir to remove any lumps.
Add the sweet wine, mushrooms, paprika and chicken stock and stir well. Bring to a simmer and then cover and cook in the oven for between two and three hours.
When the birds are tender and cooked remove and carve into pieces. Reduce the juices over a medium heat for a few minutes and then serve with the meat. |
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