Sunday, 6 January 2013

Nigella's Lamb Shanks with Beans

I have a love hate relationship with Nigella, sometimes her recipes work perfectly and sometimes they don't work at all. Also I find her timings are usually fairly off as well and have ended up with several burnt and inedible dinners from her books. Having said that I only have Nigella Express and Nigella Kitchen. Of the two Nigella Kitchen seems better, more reliable anyway. i shall keep persevering.

This recipe is from Nigella Express and it doesn't work very well. For a start how I ever thought you could or should express cook lamb shanks, which benefit from long slow cooking, I have no idea but I've always wanted to try cooking lamb shanks and didn't have much time to cook them. All of the marinade stuck to the pan and burnt, which in turn meant that the onions were inedible and the shanks burnt a little. The meat was also tough and not as tender and juicy as it should have been but the meal at least was edible and the beans were a nice touch. So an failure but not an epic one.
















Lamb Shanks with Beans (adapted from Nigella Express)
(Serves 6)

250ml white wine
4 tbsp red currant jelly plus 2 tsp
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
60ml garlic oil plus 2 tbsp
2 onions, quartered
1 sprig rosemary
6 lamb shanks
50ml water
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cans borlotti beans
salt and pepper

Get out a couple of freezer bags and divide the wine,  4 tbsp redcurrant jelly, the Worcestershire sauce, 60ml garlic oil, onions and rosemary between the two of them. Put 3 lamb shanks in each bag, seal and put in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days.

When the shanks have marinated long enough, preheat the oven to 200C.

Tip the contents of the bags into a roasting tin and put into the oven, immediately turning the temperature down to 170C. Roast for about an hour and a half then remove to a warmed serving dish.

In a pan big enough to hold the beans, warm the water, the remaining 2 tbsp garlic oil, redcurrant jelly and Dijon mustard. Add the beans and heat gently, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then pour the contents of the dish containing the shanks.

Serve with more redcurrant jelly and a tomato salad.

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