Moroccan Lamb Shanks

Serves 4 – cooking time approximately 2 ½ hours (or 7 hours in a slow cooker)

Ingredients

1 Tbs ghee
4 lamb shanks
2 red onions – sliced
3 cloves of garlic – roughly chopped
Moroccan spice mix
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 C stock (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 C chickpeas – rinsed, soaked and drained
½ C diced dried apricots
½ C dried prunes – roughly chopped or halved
¼ C currants

Spice Mix
1 Tbs cumin
1 tsp cardamon
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cloves
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp dried ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together in a mortar and pestle

Directions

Preheat the oven to 150 °

Heat the ghee in a heavy based pan and brown the shanks.  Remove and place in baking tray.

In the same pan, sauté the onions and garlic until soft, approximately 5 minutes, add the spice mix and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes or until aromatic.  Add the tomato, stock and dried fruit and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the shanks.  Cover tightly with a lid or aluminium foil and cook for 1 ½ hours.  Take the dish out of the oven and turn the shanks once, then cook for another ½ hour.  Repeat only this time add the chickpeas and cook for another ½ hour.

Stir through baby spinach leaves before serving on mashed potato, cous cous or polenta.

Alternatives
This recipe can be cooked in a slow cooker – cooking time approximately 7 hours