Braised Lamb Shanks With Apricot Curry Sauce Recipes

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH GREEN OLIVES AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• First off, you want to marinate the lamb shanks for a few hours to really penetrate the deep flavor; the wine also tenderizes the meat. Put the shanks in a large glass bowl and season with salt and pepper. Break up the thyme and rosemary with your hands to release the oils and toss them on top of the lamb. Add the lemon peel, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, bay leaves, and sugar. Pour in the bottle of wine, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
• Line a few layers of paper towels on the counter. Pull the lamb shanks out of the wine marinade (reserving it for later), and lay them out on the paper towels, cover with more paper towels and pat the meat dry really well. Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the lamb shanks in the seasoned flour; tapping off the excess.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. Sear the lamb shanks, turning carefully with tongs, so all sides are a brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil if needed. Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot. Strain marinade reserving the wine. Add the wine, remaining 2 sticks of cinnamon, remaining 2 sprigs of thyme and the stuff from the marinade. Cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and add the onions, carrots, olives, and apricots; bring to a boil. Cover the pot. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer the lamb shanks to a large platter. Spoon the onions, olives, and apricots over them. Strain the braising juices and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the platter and serve with some crusty bread.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH APRICOT CURRY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a blender, combine apricots, curry powder, vinegar, mustard and 1 cup water. Puree until smooth, about 3 minutes. Place lamb shanks in a glass or other nonreactive dish, and add apricot sauce. Turn to coat lamb well. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 days, turning meat occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place a large, deep, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. Remove lamb from marinade, reserving liquid. Brown lamb, turning often to prevent burning. Transfer to a platter. Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute over medium heat until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.
• Place lamb shanks on vegetables, and add thyme sprig, bay leaves, peppercorns and all but 1/2 cup marinade. Add water to come up almost to top of pan. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over pan, and carefully transfer to oven. Braise until meat is so tender it almost falls off bone, 5 to 6 hours.
• Remove pan from oven. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a baking sheet. Brush with remaining marinade. Raise oven temperature to 300 degrees, and return lamb to oven to crisp. Strain cooking liquid into saute pan, discarding vegetables. Cook over high heat, reducing it by four-fifths.
• To serve, spoon grits onto each of four serving plates. Lay lamb on top, and spoon some cooking liquid around and over. Garnish each plate with a sprig of thyme.

LAMB SHANKS & APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 150°C.
• In a casserole dish flour lamb and brown in hot oil. Then remove and set aside.
• Add a little more oil to dish and gently sauté onion, capsicum and fennel until softish, stirring regularly and scraping the bottom of the pot.
• Add ginger, garlic, coriander and cumin, and mix well.
• Add stock, saffron, sambal, honey, seasonings and apricots.
• Return lamb to pot, stir, cover.
• Place in oven for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until cooked to your liking.
• Serve with rice or mashed potato, sprinkled with fresh parsley.

LAMB SHANKS BRAISED WITH APRICOTS AND NORTH AFRICAN SPICES

Steps:

• Combine the cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, ginger, peppercorns, cumin, cardamom, coriander and fennel in a spice grinder and grind until fine and well mixed. Measure out 3 tablespoons and reserve the rest for another use.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Season the shanks with the salt, place in the pan and sear on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove and set aside the shanks. Turn the heat to low. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, the garlic and onions. Cook until browned, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth, raise the heat and deglaze the pan. Stir in the spice mixture and the apricots. Put the shanks back in the pan.
• Cover with foil and roast until the meat is very soft, turning the shanks frequently and spooning the liquid over them, about 2 1/2 hours. Take out the shanks and degrease the sauce. Stir in the thyme and salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the shanks among 4 plates and spoon the sauce over them. Serve with couscous or potatoes.