I was inspired by a recipe posted by Cook Sister! to make a lamb shank curry. If you remember, I had decided after testing the Adoro Mouvèdre, with both cheese and chocolate, to make a curry to see just how well this wine complimented a curry. In my opinion, star anise is one of the most difficult spices to pair a wine with so I wanted to make a curry that was heavy on the star anise. Jeanne’s recipe for Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine called for cinnamon so I replaced that (and a few of the other ingredients) and made star anise the star! I got these lovely lamb shanks from a local butchery and only 3 could fit into my tagine, so I made use of my cocotte as well. There were meant to be 6 of us for supper but as it turned out, there was only the four of us, and we have two beautiful shanks waiting to be devoured for supper one night this week. As the shanks were so large, I did not make a starter. I would suggest you make ‘seconds’ of this recipe, as it will freeze well and will do for a night when the weather suddenly turns cold, or for when you really do not feel like cooking.
Lamb Shank Curry
Ingredients
- 6 lamb shanks
- 45 mls curry powder
- 6 onions, peeled and finely slices
- 175 g celery, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 135 mls olive oil
- 60 mls ras el hanout
- 30 mls garam masala
- 6 star anise
- 1.5 l vegetable stock
- 250 g dried apricots
- 2 preserved lemons, quartered
Method
- in the largest pot you own heat half of the olive oil
- add the onions and sauté until soft
- add the celery, carrots, garlic, ras el hanout, the garam masala and the star anise
- fry until the carrots and celery are soft, and the kitchen smells of the spices
- in a large frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil
- rub the lamb shanks with the curry powder and brown them all over, including the meaty end
- add to the pot with the vegetables
- add enough of the stock to cover the shanks
- bring to the boil and then put the lid on, turn down the heat and simmer for 2 hours
- make sure that the shanks do not dry out
- add the apricots and preserved lemon to the pot and simmer for a further 45 minutes
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
ps – the wine is perfect with the curry!
And? What was your final verdict on the compatibility of the dish with the Adoro?
it was good – but the wine is a bit too sweet for me 🙂
Hmm, wonderful and I can actually get lamb shanks here (costs an arm, leg and a back tooth) but worth it for this wonderful recipe.
Would I be insulting your meal if I stuck to my gin and tonic though?
🙂 Mandy
G&T is perfect – and not an insult at all. In fact, I started the evening with one. These shanks cost R30 each – and I have no idea if that is cheap or expensive 🙂
Shanks imported from Australia cost Rs575 per kilo here (when you can get them)- which is about R134!
yikes! nearly double what we pay here – damn expensive place you live in xox
Looks absolutely delicious, Tandy. I am so craving this curry!
thanks Jane-Anne – it made a great left over meal last night 🙂
This was without question the best lamb shank I have ever tasted (I was one of the lucky four)! The star anise was indeed the star but the meal was balanced and beautiful, and amazingly for something so good, did not overshadow the wine.
The versatility of the Adoro Mourvedre was showcased once again – and good thing too, those lamb shanks were WAY too good for a mismatched pairing!
Thank you so much – it is a pleasure having you over for dinner!
4 tablespoons of Ras El Hanout ????
Seems an awfull lot – is this right?
Hi, it does sounds like a lot, but that is what I used for the recipe and with 6 lamb shanks, the vegetables and the stock, it works perfectly 🙂
What is ” ras el hanout”? Where can I find it?
hi, it is a spice blend from Morocco – follow this link for a recipe: http://tandysinclair.com/2011/01/26/ras-el-hanout 🙂
Mmm, sounds wonderful 🙂 I’m glad my recipe inspired you to make your own version – intrigued by how the star anise would have changed the taste!
it was really awesome and a huge hit! Thank you so much for the inspiration 🙂
This must have been devine. I am a huge star anise fan!!!!
it was extremely good 🙂