So this blog post has been inspired by a best friend who asked for the recipe (a long time ago already but reminded me this morning), a man who devours my cooking and a trip to Namibia where no meal is complete without meat or fish…
I spent the morning wandering through Swakopmund, rustling through antique stores and drinking German coffee. Bought some presents for the family – all handmade knickknacks with no African inspiration. I’ve had enough carved soapstone animals and bowls to last a lifetime already! Instead I got my host a print on canvas – it’s set on a rough material background and I fell in love with the texture and subject immediately. Mom got a hand embroidered pashmina that was made by some local empowerment project – it’s grey with colourful flowers mad of neat daisy chain stitches. The rest of the family got pewter bookmarks made by the same project – very simple but cute.
It’s my last night in Namibia – I’ve been here a week and since I’m on holiday I’ve had all the time in the world to make all the yummy food I haven’t got time to make at home with my crazy training schedule and work… The guys have been spoilt with roast chicken, lamb and butternut bredie, chicken kebabs with all the trimmings on the braai, pasta, salads, roasted veggies, seared tuna steaks (the hungry man saw to these!), rusks, fudge, apple pie, pears poached in red wine syrup to mention just a few! Tonight, however, I thought I’d go all out: Lamb Shanks in red wine and honey served on crushed potato with veggies on the side (I’ve been spoiling them rotten but every meal has included a green and orange veggie – much to their disgust! Apparently veggies are for moms or girls… I love veg so maybe they’re right!) I’ve got pears left over from the last batch I did so I’ll poach some more of those in red wine but add a spicy twist with cloves tonight I think. I normally serve these with Bulgarian yogurt but tonight I feel like ice cream so that’s what it’ll be.
Lamb Shanks:
In Cape Town this is a real luxury as it’s so expensive to make which is partly why I left it to the last night’s treat dinner. I was pleasantly surprised however when I got to the till at the butchery that lamb in Namibia is just over half the price as it is in SA – big smiles all round! This is a rough guideline as you can’t really mess up this dish. It wants to be yummy all on it’s own!
1 Lamb Shank per person
750ml Red wine - I’m using about a bottle full (there are two open bottles left over from the weekend and these minus the glass I’ll drink while I’m cooking equal about a bottle!). You basically want to almost cover the shanks.
75ml Honey
Rosemary (fresh if you have access to it – it just tastes that much better!)
Mixed dried herbs
Salt and Pepper to season
Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and brown the lamb on all sides. This locks in flavour and also develops a fuller flavour somehow… Season the lamb with salt and pepper at this point as you transfer it to an appropriately sized casserole dish. Add the red wine, honey and herbs to the casserole before covering securely and putting into the oven at 160oC for an hour and a bit (this is a guideline – the more lamb you have touching the longer it will need to cook for. Should you need to cook it faster you can consider using a separate casserole for each shank – this sounds crazy but I’ve seen it done in those foil baking containers and it worked a dream). Once you’re satisfied that the lamb is cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. If your gravy needs thickening, remove the shanks to a dish and add a little maizena to water before adding to your gravy. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
Serve with potatoes – mashed, crushed, baked, it doesn’t really matter – and a green veg. I also put mint sauce or jelly on the side as no lamb is complete without it in my books.
A word of warning though: Lamb Shanks are highly addictive… family and friends have been known to be rather a pain after I’ve made shanks for them – they beg for me to make them again and again! They are, however, a really good wow-factor meal if you’re looking to impress… Enjoy!
