Slow cooked lamb shanks

Miss K - a bonafide lamb lover

As the winter weather continues to harras us (I have to say I far prefer the novelty of snow than the icy rain), it's a great opportunity to get out the slow cookers and fill up on hearty hot meals. You can have this meal in the slow cooker in less than 15 minutes.

Master A enjoys his lamb SHank

Lamb shanks, are a real favourite in our house - even though they cost a bit more than they used to, they are easy to prepare and quickly devoured! Tonight they were served with oven roasted potatoes (request of the kids), but its lovely on mashed potatoes or creamy polenta (to soak up the sauces) and served with whatever other veges you have on hand.

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
2 T olive oil or cooking oil
3 - 4 lamb shanks
1 onion
2 x cans of diced tomatoes (flavoured is fine)
2 t of beef stock or one beef cube
2 bay leaves
water or wine or beer

1. Turn slow cooker on high and spray with oil (a hint I learnt from the Holsts)
2. Heat oil in frying pan and lightly brown the lamb shanks on all sides
3. Thinly slice the onion and place on the bottom of the slow cooker
4. Place lamb shanks on top of onions and cover with the two cans of tomatoes.
5. Fill the cans up with water, mix the stock in (alternatively you could add one cup of red wine, or beer and one cup of water - or a cup of wine/beer and a cup of stock (beef/vegetable) and pour over into the slow cooker. Add the bay leaves.
6. Turn the slow cooker to low and leave for 7 - 8 hours until the shanks are tender and falling from the bone.
7. Serve with mashed potatoes, peas, roasted carrots and other veges, and/or crusty bread to mop up the sauce. 

You can vary this recipe by adding other herbs and vegetables (like carrots).

Vege soup and rye bread

All this snow really inspires soup. My wee ones love a good (pureed) vege soup, made extra special by the Raumati Butcher's bacon pieces! What's lovely about this is you can get your 5 + A Day in one go.

Yes some one sneaked a bite and a taste before photo could be taken!

This arvo I also whipped up some rye bread. This is wheat free, but not gluten free. It makes two loaves, so you can eat one and slice and freeze the other - for another cold snap.

 Vege soup - serves 4 - 6

1 Leek hopped finely
about 50 to 100 grms of bacon bits (big chunky ones from the butcher you can slice up are the best)
1 T of olive oil or olivani
1/2 pumpkin
2 potatoes
2 carrots
2 kumara
2 small turnips or one average size swede.
2 t of vege stock powder
3 -4 cups of water (just enough to cover the veges)

1. Finely slice your leek and chop up the bacon bits
2. Chop up all other veges into approx 2cm x 2cm chunks, except the carrot - this needs to be sliced quite finely as it takes the longest to cook.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the leeks and bacon and lightly fry until leeks are just tender, stirring often.
4. Throw in all other veges and give them a good stir.
5. Add the water and the vege stock. Bring to the boil over high heat, then turn it down to a low heat and leave to simmer for about 20 - 25 mins until the veges are tender.
6. Leave to cool then blend. I use a blender on a stick to whizz all the veges up. You can also do this in a blender or food processor (in batches), but make sure the soup is cooled fully, or the lid will fly off and it can be quite dangerous.
8. Return pureed soup to the pot and re-heat gently.
9. Serve with bread.

Rye Bread from The Gluten, Wheat & Dairy Free Cookbook by Antoinette Savill.
455g or 31/4 C of Rye Flour
310 g or 2/1/4 cups of white rice flour (I used a tapioca and rice flour mix)
1 t of salt
14 g of instant yeast - I used 6 teaspoons of dried yeast
300ml of unsweetened apple juice (I used tropical as we had no apple) mixed in equal parts with warm water - (I took this to mean 300mls of juice and 300mls of water, but after making a very wet dough, I assume that this was actually 300mls of juice and warm water in total).
2 t of treacle or molasses
1 t of cumin seeds (optional)

1. Prepare two non-stick loaf tins (I sprayed mine with cooking oil)
2.Sift flours and salt into a bowl. Mix in yeast, make a well in the centre and stir in apple juice/water mix
3.Dip Tablespoon into boiling water to heat it, then use the spoon to measure the molasses (this helps stop it sticking), add to the mixture and mix until you have a firm dough. A word of advice - avoid licking the spoon after, no matter how tempting it looks. Molasses is very strong!
4.knead thoroughly on a floured board for about 10 minutes. Divide the mixture between two baking tins, cover with glad wrap and leave in a warm place until the mixture has doubled in size (about 40 mins).
5. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 C or 400 F.
6. Place the tins on a baking sheet, sprinkle the tops with a little water and the cumin seeds, then bake in the oven for 45 mins. The top goes a very dark colour.
7. Remove from the oven to cool slightly, before leaving on a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve cold in slices or freeze until needed.

I will be trying this one again with the right amount of liquid!