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!
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).
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.
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!
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.
2 cups beef broth (or 1 cup red wine + 1 cup water)
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F (220°C fan forced).
Rub the lamb with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Use a thin, sharp knife to make 12 incisions in the lamb, deep as you can but without piercing through the bottom of the lamb. (See photo in post and video
Stuff bits of rosemary and garlic slivers into the holes (chopstick helpful!)
Place the onion, halved garlic bulb and rosemary in the base of a roasting pan. Place the lamb on top. Pour water around.
Cover with lid or tightly with a double layer of foil. Place in the oven, and TURN DOWN to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
Slow roast, covered: Roast, covered with the foil, for 3 hours. (Note 1 for different sizes).
Brown it, uncovered: Remove foil, check to ensure there’s still liquid in the pan. If not, add 3/4 cup water (otherwise onion/garlic will burn). Turn up the oven to 220°C/425°F and roast for a further 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin is browned and crisp.
Check if ready: By now, you should be able to part the meat with two forks – if not, just cover and return to oven at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) until you can do so.
Rest: Remove lamb from the roasting pan and transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with foil then a couple of tea towels and let it rest for at least 20 minutes, up to a couple of hours (after this, you may want to reheat).
Serve with gravy (below). If you want to go all out, make Duck Fat Potatoes or Super Crispy Roasted Potatoes!
Gravy
Tilt the pan and use a spoon to remove all but around 2 tbsp of fat (try to avoid scooping out any juices).
Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir to mix in with the fat. Cook for 30 seconds.
Add the stock gradually and stir to combine. Use a potato masher to mash the onion and garlic, making sure that all the garlic squeezes out of the skin.
Allow it to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until it is just before your desired consistency (it will thicken a bit as it cools), then remove from the stove. Season to taste with salt and pepper, strain into bowl being sure to squeeze all juices out of garlic etc, then transfer into gravy jug.
1 cup brown rice – medium grain, long grain or basmati
8 cups water (Note 1)
Baked Rice:
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice (medium grain ok too)
2 1/2 cups BOILING water (Note 2)
Will NOT work for / not yet tested:
Quick cooking rice (ie par boiled) – will not work
Brown jasmine – not yet tested
Instructions
Rinsing rice: only required if you purchased from bulk bins. If you rinse, reduce water by 1/4 cup for baked version.
Boil and Drain:
Boil water: Bring water to a boil in a small pot or large saucepan over high heat.
Boil rice: Add rice, then boil rice until just cooked, a tiny bit firmer than you want (it gets softer during Rest step). Use these times as a guide (Note 3):– Medium and long grain rice: 30 minutes– Basmati rice: 12 minutes (1st check) to 14 minutes
Drain VERY well (key tip! Note 4): Drain rice in a colander, shaking the pot well to remove as much water as you can, and shaking the colander to remove excess water from the rice. Pot should steam dry from residual heat.
Rest: Return rice to now-dry pot. Put lid on and put it back on the turned off stove. Leave for 10 minutes.
Fluff and serce: Fluff rice with fork and serve.
Baked Rice:
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
Combine rice and water: Pour rice and boiling water into a 20cm/8″ square pan or round casserole pot. Cover with lid or foil.
Bake 1 hour 15 minutes.
Rest, fluff & serve: Remove from oven, stand 10 minutes then fluff with fork and serve.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot over high heat. Add half the mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Season with salt and pepper then remove and set aside (we put these in at the end, mushrooms cooked in rice don’t stay as golden).
If the pot is dry, another 1/2 – 1 tbsp oil, and add butter. When melted, add onions and garlic.
Cook for 30 seconds, then add remaining mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned (they won’t caramelise as well as the first batch) and the base of the pot is brown.
Add rice and a splash of broth. Mix so the brown stuff on the bottom of the pot mixes into the liquid. (Video below helpful here)
Once the base of the pot is clean, add remaining liquid. Place lid on, bring to a simmer then turn down to medium low.
Cook for 15 minutes or until there is no residual liquid (tilt pot to check).
Remove from stove, remove lid, QUICKLY toss in reserved mushrooms and scallions, put lid back on. Leave for 10 minutes (do not skip this step!).
Fluff rice using a fork or wooden spoon. OPTIONAL: Stir through more butter. Serve!
1/2 red bell pepper / capsicum , diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup tinned black beans (drained)
1 cup tinned corn kernels (drained) (or frozen corn)
4 cups cooked rice (see notes)
Optional: 1 1/2 cups protein (chicken, pork, beef), shredded or diced
Sauce
6 tbsp enchilada sauce (see notes)
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
Black pepper
Instructions
Combine the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix.
Heat the oil in a pan over high heat. Add garlic and cook for 10 seconds until fragrant.
Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until the onion becomes translucent – about 2 minutes.
If you are using uncooked protein, add it and sauté until just cooked through.
Add the black beans and corn. If you are using cooked proteins (like shredded cooked chicken) add it at the same time. Cook for 1 minute just to heat through.
Add the rice and Sauce and stir quickly to coat the rice evenly.
Check seasoning and add more salt if you require it. Amount of salt required depends on the saltiness of the enchilada sauce you are using.
