Now September is Spring – and September is right around the corner. But I am yet to see the weather begin to warm up down here in Canberra, in fact it was snowing in my backyard the other day. So I think that we still have some time to whip up a delicious winter warmer – like these lamb shanks with apricots and prunes.
I picked up some tender lamb shanks from the markets and came home to see what I had in the cupboard to go with them. I found chickpeas, prunes and apricots so decided to go in a slightly Middle Eastern direction {which made for a nice snap shot for instagram}.
I found that adding fruit into savoury dishes polarises people. Some people love the idea of lamb and stone fruits. Some people enjoy a little pomegranate in their savoury dish. And then a friend told me to google ‘fesenjan’ – a Persian Chicken Stew with Walnut and Pomegranate Sauce – now that sounds right up my alley.
LAMB SHANKS WITH APRICOTS AND PRUNES
4 – 6 lamb shanks
1 red onion
1 can of chickpeas
1/2 cup of apricots
1/2 cup of prunes
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of cumin
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of couscous
4 cups of chicken stock
olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
Brown off your lamb shanks in a little olive oil and crushed garlic. Add the red onion, chickpeas, apricots, prunes, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and stock bringing to the boil. Place a lid on the dish and pop into the oven at 180 degrees for 3 hours.
Remove the pot from the oven and add the couscous {make sure that there is at least 1cm of liquid covering the couscous – if there isn’t you can simply add some water}. Return to the oven for 20 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and then you’re ready to serve.
Do you enjoy lamb shanks? Do you like fruit in your savoury dishes? Have you made one of my one-pot-wonders lately – remember to let me know, by snapping an image and posting it to instagram with the hashtag #goodfoodweek.
