Tonight’s meal isn’t anything special. Typically, I have some idea during the week what I’ll be cooking; however, this week, it wasn’t until I started grocery shopping that I decided to buy a pair of lamb shanks.
I reached a new minimum weight today, so I thought potato mash would be a nice treat.
Recipe
Equipment
Pressure cooker
Microwave radiation oven
Ingredients
Lamb shanks – two “drumsticks.”
Ginger marmalade – one tablespoon
French onion soup mix – salt-reduced version
Birds Eye potato mash – one packet
Carrot – one carrot cut into chunks.
Celery – a couple of stalks
A brown onion – one roughly chopped.
Instructions
Lamb
Put the celery, carrot, and onion in the pressure cooker.
Empty the French onion soup packet mix into the pressure cooker.
Add the marmalade.
Pour in some boiling water.
Add the lamb.
Cook for one hour under pressure.
Remove the lid.
Remove the lamb, keep one warm, and refrigerate the other.
Sieve the cooking liquor and simmer to reduce it to syrup.
Potato
Prepare the potato mash as per the instructions on the packaging.
Plating up
Spread the potato mash on a dinner plate.
Place a lamb shank on the mash.
Spoon some of the syrup over the lamb.
Give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with a fork.
Photographs
Lamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauceLamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauceLamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauceLamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauceLamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauceLamb shank with potato mash and carrot served with Buderim ginger marmalade sauce
Final thoughts
Have a good week. Catch you next Saturday.
Extras
I recently bought an air fryer so I will try duck breast in the air fryer tomorrow.
Dry brining duck breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
I’ll cook this duck breast in a water bath sometime during the week. It’s currently in the freezer with some navel orange and golden syrup.
Duck breast with navel orange and golden syrup in a vacuum bag
It’s Autumn, which means the 2023 footy season has started.
It began well with the Storm winning Thursday night and the Broncos winning a nail-biter last night.
It was so relaxing laying in bed, daydreaming about life’s pleasures and checking the NRL app for updates.
The big game of the weekend is tomorrow arvo. The Dolphins are playing against the Sydney Roosters, and it’s the Dolphin’s first official NRL game. My eldest and youngest children will be in the crowd cheering for the Dolphins. The Dolphins supporters will be screaming #phinsup
The Redcliffe Dolphins are a well-established club (founded in 1947) in Brisbane and have produced great players like Ian “Bunny” Pearce and Arthur “Arty” Beetson.
I’ve been a Broncos fan since the team’s formation and entry into the National Rugby League (1987). When the NRL announced the 2023 entry of the Dolphins as an NRL club and Wayne Bennett would be the team’s first NRL coach, I decided to make the Dolphins my number one team.
I’ve modified the recipe because I prefer a pressure cooker rather than a slow cooker. I also used shank meat rather than the whole shank. Buying shank meat means I can portion according to weight to ensure I only eat about 150 grams per serving.
The diet is going well, I’ve spent the best part of this week under my goal weight, and this morning I reached a milestone I never dreamed possible.
I’m close to the end of week 7 of CSIRO TWD. My BMI is now in the healthy range. I feel well and my clothes fit better. This week I reintroduced bread. Soon I’ll include rice. pic.twitter.com/uL8J6Q5Ham
Photographers were present and shot me during my talk on Friday morning.
A couple of photos from #PathUpdate2023 Most years I join other @PathologyRCPA colleagues in a talk encouraging medical, dental, and science students to pursue careers in pathology, oral pathology, and clinical science. Looks like I’m calling everyone to stand and sing a hymn 🙂 pic.twitter.com/dzRfaikNL3
Lamb shank meat – I bought a 550 grams packet. This weight will give me four portions of <150 grams.
Marmalade – I used some homemade whiskey and Seville orange marmalade. I also reduced the quantity of the recipe from the CSIRO TWD group.
French onion soup mix – I chose the low-sodium version.
Rosemary – foraged from the sidewalk of my street.
Orange
Peach
Pomegranate
Figs
Instructions
Boil some water in a kettle and add two teaspoons of the marmalade and some French onion soup mix to a cup of boiling water.
Mix the soup mix and marmalade until it forms a loose slurry.
Add the shank meat to the cooking vessel and pour over the soup and marmalade mixture.
Add some fresh rosemary leaves.
Cook in the pressure cooker for 45 minutes.
Allow the pressure to equilibrate naturally, and transfer the meat to the refrigerator.
Sieve the cooking liquor and reduce it in a saucepan.
The reduced cooking liquor will form a sauce.
Wash the figs and divide them to create a star shape.
Remove the arils from the pomegranate by beating it with the back of a cook’s knife.
Quarter an orange and dissect out the flesh.
Wash the peach and cut it into small pieces.
Arrange the fruit and meat on a plate and drizzle the reduced cooking liquor over the food.
Give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with a fork or chopsticks.
Final thoughts
The syrupy sauce from reduced marmalade, French onion, and rosemary was exquisite.
Cooking meat on the bone will always bear more flavour. I believe that. Life, however, is about compromises, and I am willing to compromise a bit on taste to make it easier to maintain a habit. I rely heavily on routines to optimise my mental health.
If I were cooking this and enjoying it with someone else, I would use a whole shank and pull the meat from the bone after it has cooked.
I now have some lamb meat left for this week and half a pomegranate left to enjoy on Monday night with soy-flavoured poached salmon.
I hope your week to come is peaceful, joy-filled and happy.
Fig and pomegranate with lamb shank meatClaire’s marmaladeFig and pomegranate with lamb shank meatFig and pomegranate with lamb shank meatFig and pomegranate with lamb shank meatFig and pomegranate with lamb shank meat
I cooked this meal last month. It was the first large meal I cooked in a new pressure cooker whose cooking vessel had a larger diameter. Sometimes with the old pressure cooker, the bones from the lamb shanks would be longer than the diameter. A small-diameter bowl was not a problem for cooking but laying them flat made them look neater in the bowl.
Recipe
Equipment
Pressure cooker
Cast iron skillet
Stick blender
Ingredients
Lamb shanks
Flour
Oregano (dried herbs)
Rosemary (dried herbs)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper (ground, black)
Onion (chopped)
Carrot (diced)
Celery (diced)
Tomatoes (tinned)
Red wine
Stock
Butter
Flour
Packet potato mash
Instructions
Mix the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to make a dry rub for the lamb shanks.
Brown the shanks in a skillet with some oil.
Remove the shanks and sauté the carrots, celery, and onion.
Deglaze the fond with the wine and stock, and then add in the tin of tomatoes.
Bring the liquid to a boil and turn off the heat.
Transfer the sauce to the pressure cooker and lay the shanks on top.
Cook under pressure for 45 minutes.
Make a roux with butter and flour and set it aside to thicken the cooking liquor.
Remove the shanks with care to avoid the meat falling from the bone.
Cook the packet of potato mash according to the instructions using microwave radiation.
Spoon the potato mash into a bowl.
Sieve the cooking liquor from the vegetables.
Discard the vegetable matter.
Thicken the cooking liquor to make gravy and spoon the sauce over the shanks and potato.
Give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with a fork.
Lamb shanksLamb shanksFloured lamb shanksBrowned lamb shanksDiced carrot, celery, and shallotsSautéd carrot, celery, and shallotsBraised lamb shanks in gravy with potato mashBraised lamb shanks in gravy with potato mashBraised lamb shanks in gravy with potato mash
Hi there friends. I hope you’re well. Well, what a week it’s been.
My week has been humming, with some challenges. Work, as usual, is busy, the pandemic continues to keep me, and my workmates occupied.
I’ve seen my general practitioner a couple of times in the last week. It had been more than a year since my last check-up.
It turns out that despite losing some weight and exercising more, my blood chemistry suggests I need to make some changes to my diet. I’d be better off if I minimised mammal and bird fat, as well as having less cream and butter in my life.
For tonight’s meal, however, I’ve been inspired by a dear friend who has been enjoying lamb shanks. It’s been an age since I cooked lamb shanks.
As I was shopping today, I thought of lamb shanks and pumpkin mash! However, as I walked down the Asian food aisle, I spied all the noodles.
Raw lamb shanksUdon noodles
Ingredients
Lamb shanks
Laksa paste
Udon noodles
Coriander
Red onion
Fennel
Spring onion
Instructions
Place the lamb shanks into the pressure cooker.
Cover the meat with some water and add a tablespoon of the laksa paste.
Cook the lamb for one hour.
When the lamb is ready, remove the bone that will likely slide out of its meat sheath and place it all into a bowl.
Drain the liquor from the pressure cooker into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
Add in the noodles and simmer until the noodles are ready.
Chop the coriander, and slice the spring onion, fennel, and red onion.
Drain the noodles and mix through the coriander, spring onion, red onion, and fennel.
Transfer the noodles to a shallow bowl and place the lamb meat on top.
Spoon some of the meat juices over the lamb and noodles.
Give thanks to the Lord for the food and for friends.
How was the meal?
Okay, I confess, this is a peculiar combination of ingredients. I wrote in a file note at work yesterday an opinion on a form of words. I acknowledged I’m a peculiar person with strong views. A workmate thought it was hilarious and agreed that I am peculiar.
The meat was tender, fall off the bone tender.
I’m not quite sure lamb shank and noodles would sell in a restaurant. That said, it was a tasty meal, and if you try it, let me know what you think.
Final thoughts
Have you ever had lamb with noodles and laksa flavours?
Do you think lamb is suited to Asian cuisine?
Do you like lamb shanks?
How has your week been?
Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think.
Udon noodlesCooked lamb shanksPressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and corianderPressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and corianderPressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and coriander
I recently attended a cooking class at 3 Seeds Cooking School in Fyshwick. I booked this class months ago after Bron had given me a voucher for my birthday. At this time of year, truffles are the big thing and 3 Seeds has lots of truffle classes. I like truffles but I wasn’t that interested in a truffle cooking class. Instead I went with the winter warmers which consisted of a pork belly entrée, a northern Italian braised lamb shank main course and a sticky pudding dessert.
The class had about twelve students, one instructor (Andrew) and a couple of assistants. The students were split into three groups of four people and we all participated in preparing dinner.
I had a lot of fun and learnt a few things. For example, when rubbing oil and salt into pig skin the amount of drying off is important, the type of salt is important and the duration of rubbing is important. I usually use a bit of paper towel to dry the pig skin. Andrew showed us it requires a little more effort with a cloth towel. While I use sea salt in a grinder Andrew pointed out that finely ground cooking salt isn’t ideal and leads to an over salted result. He recommends buying salt flakes and suggested Murray River salt flakes. When I rub in oil and salt I usually don’t massage it in and my rubbing is pretty quick. Andrew explained that he rubs in the oil and salt until is starts to feel soapy. When it gets to that stage, rub it some more.
With the lamb I learnt that low slow cooking isn’t the only way to get a tasty succulent result. Andrew asks his butcher for spring lamb and shanks from the hind quarter. The hind quarter has more meat. He also recommends sealing the meat before applying any seasoning and then braising in a hot oven for about an hour or so covered with baking paper and a table plate. He also reckons using flour before the sealing is neither here nor there and given so many people claim to have a gluten intolerance these days it’s easier not to add the flour.
I confess I didn’t take much notice of the dessert. I spent my time rubbing meat, cutting vegetables, cutting mushrooms, sautéeing mushrooms in vast quantities of butter, brown sugar and truffle salt, topping and tailing beans and puréeing sweet potatoes.
I learnt how to make a nice sweet potato and garlic mash by baking the sweet potatoes first in a relatively small amount of cream. I also learnt about double cooking green vegetables to keep them crisp and colourful.
You can see the final results in the photographs. I also got to take home a wedge of pudding, a lamb shank and a brick of pig.You can see the leftover photographs. I thought everything tasted great. I’m trialing a SmugMug account and have posted a gallery of these images. If you click on the information (i) icon you can also get map information on geotagged photographs.
Pork belly entrée from 3 Seeds Cooking School
Lamb shanks main meal from 3 Seeds Cooking School
Sticky pudding dessert from 3 Seeds Cooking School
3 Seeds Cooking School Winter warmers night | Photograph courtesy of Bron
3 Seeds Cooking School Winter warmers night | Photograph courtesy of Bron
Leftover Sticky pudding at work
Payday dinner. Leftover belly pork and lamb shank with chicken breast and chips.
I’d happily recommend 3 Seeds Cooking School. Andrew is a friendly affable instructor and easy to get along with. The kitchen is very well appointed. The knives are nice and sharp and feel good in the hand. The cooking equipment is high quality and the assistants do the washing up. The stove tops and ovens are very good and Andrew is happy to share information on why he chose them for the cooking school. If you go to the 3 Seeds Cooking School website you can find information on the equipment.
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