Thai-Style Red Lamb Curry

Thai-Style Red Lamb Curry

An aromatic curry packed full of flavour.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients

6 lamb shanks
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large red or green capsicum, chopped
1 cup coconut milk or cream
Steamed rice, mint, coriander and toasted cashew nuts to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Coat lamb with oil instead of adding oil to the dish.
Heat a large casserole pan (with lid) over a moderately high heat. Brown lamb shanks all over.
Reduce heat in pan to low and add onion, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and cook until onion is transparent. Add the curry paste and lime leaves, stirring for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the stock, capsicum and coconut cream to pan and return the lamb shanks.
Cover, place in the oven and simmer for approximately 2 hours or until the lamb is very tender. Stir occasionally and adjust the heat as required to maintain simmer. Add a little water or stock if needed to keep the ingredients just covered. Serve with steamed rice, herbs and nuts.

Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks made Deliciously Simple

Six surprisingly different ways to cook with lamb shanks this winter

Cooked until they're fall-apart tender, lamb shanks make a delicious and satisfying meal. They are quick and easy to prepare, with the oven, stovetop or slow cooker releasing their mouth-watering succulence and flavour.

No matter the recipe, lamb shanks are at their best when browned in a pan then finished off low and slow in cooking liquid. Great for a get together or as easy midweek dinner, simply put the lamb shanks in a slow cooker in the morning before heading out for the day for an irresistible dinner awaiting you after work.

Lamb shank handy cooking tips:

Don't rush the initial stage of browning the lamb. This will result in a meal rich in colour and flavour.
Make use of the rich flavours left from browning the lamb. After removing the lamb, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and add them to your dish to make good use of all the flavour.
It's easy to use the stovetop rather than an oven. Use a heavy-based pan or dish, stir the meal often and adjust the temperature if needed to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom and burning.
Maintain a gentle simmer. Controlling the heat is important; too low a heat will affect flavour, too high a heat and the meal will boil, resulting in tough, dry lamb.
Converting a recipe for the slow cooker. As a general guide, you can convert any oven or stovetop recipe by allowing 5-6 hours on low or 2-2.5 hours on high in a slow cooker for every hour in the original recipe. Since there is little evaporation when cooking with a slow cooker, reduce the liquid the recipe calls for by about a cup. The lamb will fall off the bone when tender and ready.

For additional recipe inspiration, visit www.australianlamb.com.au