Winter Favourite - Red Wine Lamb Shanks

 Winter is the best time month to leave stuff bubbling away in your slow cooker, I usually do it overnight so my apartment smells amazing in the morning and then I can't wait for lunch.

But this time I managed to wait and save it for dinner, O lamb shanks, o lamb shanks, why did I wait so long to try you out again? Years ago, living in Sydney, I had attempted to make lamb shanks but unfortunately, the meat just stayed stuck to the bone, and I never really got over that disappointment.


Lamb Shank with Sweet Potato Mash & Pomegranate Salad

I finally decided to conquer my failure and try it again. I saw these pomegranates at the market and just couldn't resist them. Just the thought of their little sweet juicy gems can bring a smile to my face.

 

And you can't make a stew without something to sop up the sauce, initially I was going for cauliflower mashed, but it was twice the normal price at the moment so I settled for some sweet potato, which is just as good.

Ingredients for the Lamb Shank:

Onion                  Salt/Pepper
Garlic                  Tomato Paste
Carrot                  Can of Tomato
Lamb Shanks       Worcestershire
Red Wine             Sugar
Stock                   Flour Mixed Spice        Bay leaf               

Directions

• Dust the lamb shanks in flour that's seasoned with salt and pepper and brown it in a pan
• Meanwhile, add the paste, can of tomato, seasoning, sauce, bay leaf to the slow cooker
• Add the lamb in slow cooker
• Brown the onion, garlic and carrot, then to slow cooker
• Top up with red wine and stock up to 7/8 of the shank.
• Cook it on low for 8 hrs (I did this and went to bed or in the morning before going to work)

After consuming the meat-falling-off-don't-even-need-knife-from-bone, there was still quite a  bit of sauce left and since I didn't want to waste it, I dumped some mystery meat I had frozen in my freezer and set my slow cooker to work again, Ta-Da 2 meals in one!

Tuscan Sausage and Bean Stew with Kale

It's already getting quite cold here in M town, the nights starts early and last night, along with that chilly wind it was also wet. Uuuugh. It's the kinda weather that makes you want to stay at home, curl up on the couch with a good book or Netflix marathon....

I've been meaning to eat healthier, since my obsession with Fried Chicken is really not working out (super sad). So I scour the web for tonight's dinner inspiration. My current flattie is returning to Italy end of next week and is super critical of all Italian cooking. So it was with trepidation that I decided to attempt my take on a Tuscan classic, the Sausage and Bean stew with Kale.

Yummmy, so much veg

Luckily my version was met with approval :)
I think I'll be adding it to my repertoire of Winter favourites.

Here's what you need: 

• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 carrots, cubed
• 1 - 2 zucchinis, cubed
• handful mushrooms, cubed
• bunch of kale leaves
• 1 can of white beans
• Sausages, chucks (I used Lamb with rosemary)
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Chili
• Paprika
• Stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Sugar
• Salt & Pepper

And how to make it:

• Heat up the pot, sauté the onion and garlic til soften, add the chucks of sausages and brown.
• Add the hard veggie (carrots and zucchini), add the mushroom
• Add the seasoning and some stock, top up with water so it slightly covers everything.
• Cover and simmer for 20 mins or so, (til your kitchen smells nice)
• Add in the beans and kale, stir
• Taste, and add more sugar/Worcestershire sauce/chili