Feed the man - lamb shanks

Lamb shanks are a long time fave of most of the men in my life - hubby, brother, father - not the mention the men connected to most of my girlfriends! It, along with lasagne, is my standard go-to meal when I'm trying to get back into the good books, or if I need a favour, or if I just want to pamper hubby.

Having said that, I don't make it all that often, because it takes HOURS to cook (but only about 10 minutes to prepare) and I don't have a slow cooker. Since I've been running my marketing consultancy, I've been making it a bit more often as I work from home and can plan a wintery day around it.

My favourite way to make lamb shanks is to slowly simmer them in a sauce with a can of Guinness. The resulting flavours are rich and velvety. Mmmm. I first had a version of this at a friend’s place on a very cold winter’s night in 2007 and it's been on the menu ever since.

I made it last week - again - when I received my box of lamb from Silverwood Organics - if you love lamb, then check out their site - the quality and flavour is so, so much better than any lamb I think I've ever tasted!

Lamb shanks with Guinness, served on polenta with steamed broccoli

Serves 4 hungry people

• 4 x lamb shanks
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tbs vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil or rice bran oil – don’t use olive oil)
• 2 x large brown onions chopped
• 2 x carrots, chopped
• 300g button mushrooms, cut into quarters (optional)
• 1 can Guinness
• 2 cups water or beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Small bunch of chopped rosemary (can also use thyme) – fresh is best if possible, otherwise 2tsp dried

1. Place the flour, salt and pepper to season into a plastic bag (I use a freezer bag). Coat the lamb shanks in the bag in the mix (you might need to do them 1-2 at a time depending on the size of the bag)
2. Heat 1 tbs vegetable oil in large pot on a medium high heat on the stove
3. Brown 2 of the lamb shanks in the oil, for about 2-3 minutes, until sealed all over. Remove with tongs and place in separate bowl. Add 1 tbs vegetable oil to pot and repeat with the last 2 lamb shanks.
4. Reduce the heat of the stove to about medium.
5. Add 1 tbs vegetable oil to pot, heat then add onions. Saute for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Return the lamb shanks to the pot.
7. Add the Guinness and stock/water to the pot. You want the lamb shanks to be just covered with the liquid, so you may need to add a bit more water/stock.
8. Add the carrots, mushrooms, bay leaves and rosemary and stir to mix in.
9. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, and simmer for about 4 hours on a low heat.
10. Skim the fat and any surface scum before stirring regularly every 30-45 minutes. After about 2 hours I generally lift the lid slightly so the liquid reduces to about ½ over the remaining 2 hours of cooking time. [I find placing some paper towel on top of the pot is a great way to soak up excess fat – do this 2-3 times depending on how much fat is in the shanks].

Serve with mash, sweet potato mash or polenta and steamed green vegies.

Options and variations

• This can be made in a slow cooker (I just don’t have one!). Coat the lamb shanks in flour mix, then add to slow cooker with all other ingredients. Turn on to medium and leave for about 8-10 hours.
• You can also add a can of chopped tomatoes which adds a bit of texture as well as extra veg
• This is also delicious with polenta (made according to the directions on the pack), or potato mash. I have also used steamed brown rice when I had a mash disaster...
• You can substitute the Guinness for 2 cups of red wine – equally yummy!
• It is even better when made the day before you actually want to eat it. Just skim off the congealed fat before you reheat.
• The recipe is easily doubled, but you need a very large stock pot to fit 8 lamb shanks!

 What's your favourite meal to cook for your loved ones?

Figs are my food porn

I've long eaten - and loved - dried figs, since first being given them in my lunchbox as a child. However I'm a recent convert to the beauty and lusciousness of the fresh fig. I discovered this love when my brother cooked this recipe as part of my birthday lunch earlier this year. Of course, the addition of blue cheese was a definite winner for me :).

The following week I was overjoyed to discover fresh figs in my Food Connect fruit and veggie box, so of course I had to repeat this recipe!

6 figs
100 grams blue brie, or other soft blue cheese
6 pieces of prosciutto

Cut the figs across the top into quarters, but don’t cut all the way through. Cut the blue cheese into 6 pieces and gently put 1 piece into each of the cut figs. Wrap each fig with a slice of prosciutto and hold together with a toothpick.

Bake in the oven at 200c for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is gooey and the proscuitto crisp.

Eat and enjoy! And yes, I have been known to lick the plate to get every morsel!

PS I've just gobbled 4 fresh figs - which prompted this blog entry - and they were GORGEOUS!

PPS The dodgy photo was taken on my blackberry as I couldn't find my camera and wasn't prepared to wait to eat these delectible morsels!

Friday night pizza

Friday nights at our place, like many I suspect, can be a bit hit and miss with dinner. You know how it is, it's the end of the week, everyone's tired and a bit cranky, no one wants to cook or even make a decision about what to eat - and by 5pm all I'm normally thinking of is that big G&T or glass of red!

One of the foods that we all love (well, one of my favourite foods) is pizza. I have never been a big fan of the chain-store variety (you know the ones I'm talking about), and I find it a bit objectionable to pay $20 for a better quality but often soggy take away pizza. And I REFUSE to eat a frozen pizza.

Salami, mushroom, red pepper and bocconcini pizza

For the last couple of months we've been making pizza on a Friday night. Dough and all. It's easy and it's healthy (well, healthier than takeout pizza). And thanks to my thermomix, quick. AND since I realised you can freeze uncooked pizza dough, it's become even easier. Best of all, my stepson who is 9, and not known for his easy eating habits, LOVES it, helps make his own, and eats every mouthful. And that's a big win around here.

So, the recipe. Any basic pizza dough recipe will do, but I use:

Pizza dough
1 sachet dry yeast (make sure the use by date hasn't expired)
10g sugar or honey (a bit more than a tablespoon)
250ml warm water
3 tblsp olive oil
2tsp salt
500g plain flour (I use the '00' bakers flour but you could also use 100gm wholemeal and 400gm plain flour)

As I mentioned, I make this in a thermomix which takes about 3 minutes plus rising time, but the old fashioned way is easy too - just a bit slower!

• In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar/honey, oil and about 1/3 water. Let it rest for a few minutes until it looks frothy
• Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle
• Add the wet mix to the flour mix and use your hands to mix it well together. Add more water and continue mixing until it comes together - you want it to be elastic but not sticky.
• Tip it onto a well floured bench and knead dough for about 10-15 minutes (this would be Mr 9's job if I didn't have a thermomix). Once it's quite pliable, roll it into a big ball, place it back in the large bowl, cut a cross in the top, cover with a tea towel and let it rise until it's 2-3 times the size (this can take 30-60 minutes depending on how warm it is) (see the pics below)

• Once risen, bash the dough down, knead for about 1-2 minutes, then shape into 4-6 balls (I prefer 6 so that it's a thinner and crispier base once I roll it out). To get even sized balls I roll the dough into a long sausage and cut it into 6 even looking pieces, then roll each (see the pics below)

The dough balls can now be frozen (I wrap them individually in Glad Go-between, then pop them all in a ziplock bag and into the freezer). This recipe is easily doubled, and the dough freezes well for up to 3 months. I defrost it on the bench - it takes about 30 minutes.

I pre-heat my oven to 230-250c and use a pre-heated pizza stone (I allow the stone to heat for about 15 minutes).

I usually make 1 pizza per person - whatever isn't eaten is even better the next day for breakfast.
To make the pizza, roll out each ball on a floured surface, place dough onto a piece of Glad Bake (I prefer to use a re-usable silicone sheet cut into the shape of the pizza stone so the pizza doesn't stick to the stone) cover with sauce and toppings, pop into the oven on a high heat (230-250c) and cook for until cheese has melted.

Tomato sauce
I often make my own tomato sauce too - it's pretty simple. I saute a couple of minced cloves of garlic, add a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer for about 15 minutes, add fresh (or dried) basil at the end. You can easily leave out the basil or add Italian seasoning, oregano or whatever you like.

Our favourite toppings are:

• tomato sauce, salami, mozzarella, BBQ sauce (Mr 9)
• tomato sauce, salami, mushroom, red pepper, mozzarella (hubby)
• tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mushroom, red pepper, bocconcini (me)
• tomato sauce, proscuitto, marinated artichoke hearts, bocconcini (also me)

What do you do on Friday nights for dinner? And, more importantly, what's your favourite pizza topping?