Serves 6
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 lamb shanks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
½ tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
400g tin tomato puree
1 ½ litre chicken stock
1 cup pearl cous cous
Lemon juice, to serve
Chopped parsley, to serve
METHOD
1 To prepare the lamb, heat a large heavy based saucepan over a moderately high heat. Seal the lamb shanks in the oil for eight minutes or until well coloured, before setting them aside.
2 In the same pan, add the onion, carrot and celery for three minutes, then add the spices and stir for 30 seconds. Place the shanks back in the pan and add the tomato puree and stock before bringing to the boil. Cover and turn down to a gentle simmer.
3 Once the soup is gently simmering, cook for two hours or until the meat is very tender before taking off the stove.
4 Remove the shanks and set-aside until cool enough to handle. Pull the meat off the bone and shred it with a fork.
5 Set the soup over a moderate heat and add the shredded meat and cous cous. Cook for a further 15 minutes or until the cous cous is done to your liking.
6 Season with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, adding lemon juice to taste
Cooking tips
1 Ensure to scrape the bottom of the pan to ensure the meat flavours blend with the liquid, giving the dish a deep rich flavour and colour.
2 If you can’t find shanks try using neck rosettes or forequarter chops instead.
The Carousel thanks Beef & Lamb Australia for this recipe