Even if you’re not normally a big fan of fruit with your meat, I really encourage you to try this out. The apricots melt down into the sauce to add a subtle sweetness without over powering the whole dish.
Apricot Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks
- 2 onions peeled and diced
- 1 can tomatoes (400/14oz)
- 2 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
- Place shanks, onions, apricot, tomato and rosemary in a slow cooker or oven proof dish.
- For slow cooker, cover and cook on auto for 10-11 hours or until the lamb is meltingly tender
- For the oven add in a cup of water, cover and bake at 120C (250F) fir 6-8 hours or until lamb is meltingly tender. Add in a little water if it starts to dry out.
- Taste, season and serve hot.
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Variations
vegan / vegetarian – try some slow cooked tofu. Replace lamb with about 600g (21oz) firm tofu chopped into 4 chunks. The tofu won’t take as long to cook.
chicken – replace lamb with 8 chicken drumsticks or 4 chicken marylands.
pork – replace lamb with 2 ham hocks OR about 1kg (2lb) diced pork shoulder.
Problem Solving Guide
can’t find lamb shanks? – no problem. Just substitute in a deboned shoulder of lamb or diced leg of lamb. You want about 1kg (2lb) meat off the bone.
too oily? – skim some of the excess oil from the top with a tablespoon OR allow to cool in the fridge and remove solidified fat before reheating and serving.
tough meat -this means you haven’t cooked your meat for long enough. If you can, best to pop back in the slow cooker or oven for at least another half hour or even longer.
watery sauce – if your sauce hasn’t reduced down enough, either pop in the oven with the lid off for half an hour or so, or remove the beef and simmer, uncovered in the slow cooker on high for about an hour. An additional tablespoon of tomato paste may help things.
bland – make sure you’re generous with the salt. A little more tomato paste may help as well.
dry – if you’re cooking in the oven it can be easy for the dish to dry out Best to keep an eye on it and add a little water if you think it’s looking too dry.
onion crunchy – in the slow cooker, onions can take longer to cook than the meat. I don’t worry if they’re a little bit crunchy but if it bothers you, remove the meat and simmer the sauce for 1/2 an hour or until the onions are tender. Return the meat to the pan and reheat before serving.
Prepare Ahead?
Absolutely! Like all slow cooked dishes, this will improve with a little time sitting in the fridge.
Leftover Potential
Great! Will keep in the fridge for a week or more.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve on a bed of mashed white beans such as cannellini. Just drain 2 cans of beans and mash with a fork. Warm gently in a small saucepan before dividing between 4 plates or shallow bowls.
Alternately serve shanks in bowls with a green salad on the side.
Couscous cooked according to the packet directions would be another winning accompaniment.
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