Lamb Shanks with Lentils (Instant Pot)

Because cooking in the pressure cooker is so fast, I like to prep all the ingredients before starting, collected into a few bowls, to make it easier to add them quickly. It also means you can tidy all the jars away again as you go, leaving plenty of space on my small kitchen bench.

Lamb shanks are great, cooked properly, a small amount of tender meat, with the flavour spreading through the vegetables they are cooked with.

(I served them with Baked Potatoes, you'll have to figure out that recipe seperately.)


Ingredients, broken down into easy-to-add bowls


Meat:

4 lamb shanks


For browning the meat, and starting a roux:

2 tablespoons of flour, with salt and pepper added

Olive Oil



Bowl 1 - Vegetables Bowl (Use A Big Bowl):

1 onion diced

1 carrot diced

1 celery rib diced

1 potato diced

1 small kumara diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of thyme

2 teaspoons of rosemary

1/2 - 1 teaspoon chilli flakes



Bowl 2 - Lentils, Liquids and Tomatoes (Big Bowl)

400g dried brown lentils, rinsed

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 cup water

1/2 cup of red wine (or grape juice or stock)

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar




Ramekin 1- Finale

1 tablespoon of parsley to stir through


Method

  1. Set Instant Pot to Saute mode, add oil
  2. Once hot, add lamb shanks, two at a time to brown off, throw in flour/salt pepper mix
  3. Remove lamb shanks to a plate, leave the flour/oil paste in the pan, mix it if necessary to form a roux, this will help any additional animal fats in the dish to absorb into the starchy sauce instead of forming an oily layer on top.
  4. Add Bowl 1 - Vegetables, continue to fry the vegetables off stirring for 5 minutes or longer until they start to brown
  5. Add Bowl 2 - Lentils, tomatoes and liquid, Stir it through evenly
  6. Stick the lamb shanks in, you will have to wiggle them into the pot, with them standing on their meaty ends
  7. Close lid to sealing position
  8. Pressure cook on High for 40 minutes (manual programme)
  9. At the end of cooking, wait a further 10 minutes
  10. Remove lamb shanks with tongs 
  11. Stir through the parsley, and serve the shanks with a hearty dollop of the lentils/veg mix



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Samosa Filling, Instant Pot

2 tablespoons oil Seeds: 1 teaspoon cumin seed 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1 green chili, finely chopped 1 cup green peas/veg, frozen 1 teaspoon garam masala 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder 4 medium potatoes, chopped into 2cm pieces 1 tablespoon coriander leaf Salt to taste Method 1. Instant Pot on, saute mode 2. Add oil, when hot, add seeds to sizzle 3. Add remaining spices and frozen peas/veg, mix 4. Add spuds, mix 5. Pressure cook, 3 minutes, high pressure, closed vent 6. Do the quick pressure release, use a wooden spoon to do it safely 7. Once release, restart saute mode with lid off 8. Stir in coriander leaf, let heat dry off the filling Use with pastry to make samosas
Read more

Rice Cooker Pilau Rice

Start making this in the frying pan/wok before you make the curry I can't be arsed making or buying ghee, so I used a mix of butter and canola oil. This made about 4-5 portions of rice Ingredients 1 chopped onion butter/oil Spices - 1tbsp turmeric - 1 clove - 3 cardamon pods 1 cup Brown Rice Mix (mainly brown rice with red/black rice mixed in and quinoa) 2.5 cups Water 1. Fry onion in butter/oil for 10 mins on low, get it brown on edges, transparent the rest 2. Add the dry spices, stir through for 2 mins 3. Add rice and water to the pan, stir through. 4. Transfer the mix to the rice cooker 5. Allow rice cooker to do its thing - cook the curry in the meantime 6. Leave the seeds and clove in to see who wins
Read more

The Best Kitchen Gadget Of 2023 Is The Digital Pressure Cooker

Image
I don't actually have an Instant Pot, I have a "Living and Co Digital Pressure Cooker (6 litre)" from The Warehouse. I've found that Instant Pot recipes work in it, and so my recipes should work in an Instant Pot. They are great for cooking "slow cook" dishes quickly using ther pressure cook feature, and as someone who works "on call", great because I can set a timer and it will turn itself off if I'm not in the room, avoiding burnt dinners.
Read more