Ingredients

CupsMetric

• 1.5kg/ 3 lb lamb shanks (5 small, 4 medium, 2 – 3 large) (Note 1)
• 114g/ 4oz Maesri Massaman curry paste (1 can) , or other brand (Note 2)
• 400ml/ 14oz coconut milk , full fat (Ayam brand is best, Note 3)
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (Note 4)
• 1 onion , halved then sliced 1cm / 1/3″ thick (brown, white, yellow)
• 400g/ 14oz small potatoes (2.5cm/1″ wide, halve if bigger)
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick

Garnishes:

• Red chilli , finely sliced (small = spicy, large = less spicy)
• Coriander/cilantro
• Steamed jasmine rice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
• Mix curry paste, coconut milk and stock in a 22 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ baking dish, preferably glass or ceramic (Note 5). Add onion, potato, star anise, cinnamon and lamb.
• Turn shanks to coat in sauce, then cover with foil.
• Bake in oven for 2 hours. Remove foil, bake for a further 1 hour (small shanks) or 1.5 hrs (medium to large shanks), turning lamb twice to brown evenly, until meat is so tender it can easily be teased apart with 2 forks.
• Remove lamb onto plate. Carefully skim off excess fat off the surface (tilt dish, it’s easier) – I get about 1/3 cup. Mix sauce in baking dish – it should be reduced down to a syrupy thickness (Note 6).
• Serve lamb with sauce over jasmine rice, garnished with chilli and coriander. For a larger banquet, put the curry out on a platter to share!

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• 1.35 – 1.5 kg/ 2.7 – 3 lb deboned lamb shoulder (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , divided
• 1 tsp black pepper , divided
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

The fabulous herb & nut stuffing:

• 1 tbsp / 20g unsalted butter
• 2 eschalots , finely diced (US: shallots, sub 1 small onion) (Note 2)
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 300g/ 10 oz mushrooms , button/white (Note 3)
• 2 tightly packed cups baby spinach , roughly chopped 100g
• 3 tbsp skinless hazelnuts (Note 4)
• 3 tbsp pistachios , roughly chopped (Note 4)
• 1 1/2 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (ok to omit)
• 1 1/2 tsp rosemary , fresh, finely chopped (sub fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tbsp lemon zest (divine touch, don’t skip this!)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Melting potatoes:

• 1 kg/ 2 lb baby potatoes , cut in half (4 if large) (Note 5)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Gravy:

• 2 tbsp flour plain / all-purpose
• 1 1/4 cups beef stock/broth , low sodium
• 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce (optional, for deeper colour) (Note 6)
• Salt and pepper , if needed (I don’t add any more)

Instructions

Stuffing:

• Roast hazelnuts – Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Roast the hazelnuts for 8 minutes. Cool, then roughly chop.
• Blitz the mushrooms in a food processor, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mushrooms are chopped into little 3mm/0.1″ pieces.
• Duxelle – Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over high heat. Add eschalots, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes or until the liquid that comes out of the mushrooms mostly evaporates. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
• Cool – Transfer the filling into a bowl. Cool for 20 minutes then stir in remaining ingredients.
• Stuffing log – Pile the stuffing on a piece of cling wrap. Use your hands to roughly shape it into a 35cm / 13.5″ long log. Tightly roll up with cling wrap. Place in the freezer for 3 hours (up to 3 days) until it is firm. (Note 7)

Pound and roll lamb:

• Pound – Place the lamb shoulder fat-side down. Cover with plastic wrap (I use go between) or baking paper. Then use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound the meat (hard!) into a 40 x 22cm rectangle (15.5 x 8.5″). Aim for even thickness ~1.75cm (2/3″). Trim and patch as needed to make your rectangle – see video, I cut & rearrange 2 large flappy bits that stick out.
• Roll – Sprinkle the surface of the lamb with half the salt and pepper. Unwrap the frozen stuffing log then roll it up tightly, finishing with the seam side down.
• Tie – Secure with kitchen twine tied every 2cm / 0.8″. (See video for tips)

Slow-roast:

• Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced).
• Season – Rub the lamb roll all over with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.
• Potatoes – Toss the potatoes with the salt, pepper and olive oil in a large roasting pan (not a baking tray). Put the lamb on top of the potato, on the diagonal if needed to fit.
• Short high temp roast – Roast for 30 minutes (renders some fat and gives the colour a head start).
• Slow roast – Turn the oven down to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature is 98°C/208°F or the meat can be fairly easily teased apart using two fork (check in a discreet spot).
• Rest – Remove lamb and potato to a tray and loosely cover with foil while you make the gravy.

Gravy:

• Drippings – The roasting pan will have meat juices and fat. Tilt the pan so you can scoop off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of fat (the clear liquid that rises to the surface). Make sure you keep the dark brown juices in the pan. If you’re short of fat, add butter.
• Heat fat – Put the pan directly on the stove over medium heat. Once the fat is hot, sprinkle the flour over and stir for 1 minute.
• Thicken – While stirring, slowly pour in the stock. Add soy sauce, then keep stirring as it bubbles gently until it thickens into a maple syrup consistency.
• Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired (I don’t need more). Pour into a jug (strain, if needed).

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shanks , about 300g/10oz each (Note 1)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 – 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola)
• 1 large onion , sliced (yellow, brown)
• 6 cloves garlic , chopped
• 1 litre / 4 cups water
• 500 ml / 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium tomatoes , chopped

Spices:

• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp extra cinnamon , extra for later
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads (Note 2)

Instructions

• Sprinkle shanks with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat. Brown shanks all over, 2 at a time. Remove from pot.
• Discard excess oil, clean pot if it’s very dirty.
• Add 1 tbsp oil. Cook onion and garlic for 2 minutes until translucent.
• Stir in the turmeric, cinnamon, tomatoes, and salt.
• Add chicken broth and stir well.
• Place shanks in pot, then add water as needed so the shanks are 3/4 or fully covered, but no more than 1L/4 cups water. (Note 2)
• If shanks not fully submerged, make a cartouche (baking paper lid, Note 3).
• Bring up to the boil. Place the cartouche snugly on surface (if using), cover pot leaving a little crack (to ensure it doesn’t boil over).
• Turn heat down so simmering very gently. Cook 1.5 hours, turning every 30 minutes.
• Add cardamom and nutmeg into liquid.
• Cook for another 1 hour until meat is very tender and falling off the bone.
• Carefully remove meat from liquid into a bowl and cover with foil.

Reduce broth:

• Simmer broth rapidly 30 – 45 min until reduced by half.
• Add saffron and remaining 1/8 tsp cinnamon.
• Simmer further 10 – 15 min until reduced to 500 ml / 2 cups. Should taste like a very well seasoned, intensely savoury but lightly spiced broth.

Finishing:

• Return meat to pot to gently reheat for a few minutes, turning and basting the meat with the liquid to keep it moist.
• Serve shanks with the braising liquid as a sauce. Pictured garnished with pomegranate seeds (leftover from salad, see Notes) or mint leaves, for visual only.

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• 2.75 – 3 kg / 5.5 – 6 lb lamb leg , bone-in (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 tsp cooking salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Rub

• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves , finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Base

• 2 whole heads of garlic , halved horizontally (Note 2)
• Few sprigs rosemary (optional)

Gravy

• 4 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth / stock , low sodium (Note 3)

Instructions

• Take lamb out of fridge at least 1 hour before roasting. (Note 4)
• Preheat oven to 240°C/475°F (220°C fan) with oven shelf in the middle.
• Rub – Mix rosemary, garlic and olive oil.
• Prepare lamb – Place lamb leg in a roasting pan. Coat with the rub using your hands, the sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Place garlic and rosemary sprigs underneath the lamb, garlic cut face up.
• Roast lamb leg for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) and roast for a further 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 53°C/127°F for medium rare (Note 5 other doneness). Check first at 45 minutes – everyone’s oven is different!
• Rest – Remove lamb from oven. Transfer lamb to plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes to 1 hour (it will still be warm enough for serving!). The internal temperature will rise to 62°C/144°F (medium rare). Make gravy while lamb is resting – below.
• Serve lamb with gravy, duck fat or classic crunchy roast potatoes, peas and steamed carrots tossed with butter and parsley.

Gravy for roast lamb leg

• Drippings in pan – Discard rosemary sprigs. You should have around 4 – 5 tbsp of fat (drippings). If less, add butter. If much more, discard a bit.
• Add flour – Place roasting pan on stove over medium heat. When the fat starts to bubble, then add flour. Mix flour in and cook for 1 minute.
• Stock – Pour in half the beef stock and mix to dissolve sludge in, then add remaining beef stock and mix.
• Garlic squidging – Use a potato masher (if you’re really keen like me) to mush the garlic to squeeze out the flavour (also helps flour caught in garlic to dissolve).
• Taste – Check salt and pepper (I don’t add more).
• Thicken – Simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring, until it starts to thicken. Take it off the stove BEFORE the gravy is the thickness you want because it will keep thickening.
• Strain into a bowl, mushing garlic to squeeze all the liquid out. Then pour into gravy jug and serve with lamb!

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• 2.25 kg / 4.5 lb leg of lamb , bone in (or shoulder) (Note 1)
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole garlic head , unpeeled, cut in half horizontally
• 1 onion , quartered (unpeeled is fine)
• 2 rosemary sprigs (2 = whisper of rosemary flavour, 4 sprigs = stronger flavour)
• 3 cups beef stock/broth , low sodium (or homemade)
• 2 cups water

Gravy:

• 4 tbsp flour (white)
• 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper , to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 170°C/335°F (standard) or 150°C (fan).
• Place garlic, onion and rosemary in a metal roasting pan.
• Season lamb: Place lamb leg right side up in the pan. (Note 2) Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and rub it in.
• Turn lamb over and place it so it mostly sits on the garlic and onion. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, rub it in. (Video helpful here)
• Add liquids and cover: Drizzle lamb with olive oil. Pour broth and water around the lamb – it won’t cover it, that’s ok, the lamb sinks into it. Cover with foil (don’t use a lid, you want a bit of liquid to steam out).
• Slow roast: Place in the oven and roast for 4.5 hours. (See Notes for roasting time table)
• Check meat: Remove from the oven, remove foil. Turn lamb over. Check it to ensure the meat is tender enough to pry a bit off easily with a fork. If not, return, covered, to oven.
• Brown lamb: Return uncovered lamb to oven for a further 45 minutes or until well browned.
• Rest: Remove lamb, spoon over pan juices generously. Transfer to serving platter, cover loosely with foil while you make the gravy (stays warm for 1 – 1.5 hours).

Gravy:

• Skim fat: Use a large spoon to skim off and discard some of the fat from the surface of the liquid.
• Add flour: Place pan on the stove on medium high. When the liquid bubbles, add flour. Use a whisk to mix it in – this may take a few minutes as the liquid reduces.
• Add water: Once it looks like sludge (see video), whisk in 1/2 – 1 cup of water until it becomes a gravy consistency to your taste. Adjust salt and pepper to taste – I rarely add extra salt.
• Strain gravy into a bowl, pressing juices out of the onion etc. Pour gravy into jug.