Sharon´s favourite is tasty and cheap

In these trying financial times, dishes that are economical and very tasty are a great idea. Lamb shank cooked with fresh plums is one of Sharon’s favourite all-time dishes with the sweet/tart flavour of the plums melding wonderfully with the meat. Lamb shank is the lower part of a leg of lamb, which means it is much cheaper than a whole leg. Cooked slowly it is delicious. Here’s what to do.

Ingredients

One lamb shank (caneta de cordero).
Two or three chopped onions.
Three or four cloves of crushed and chopped garlic.
A little oil.
Two courgettes chopped into cubes.
Two carrots grated.
Four or five chopped ripe plums
Herbs – we used chopped fresh sage and parsley leaves, but use what you have. Dried herbs are fine.
Lamb stock cube dissolved in hot water.
Salt and pepper to taste


Put the oil into a large casserole pan and add the onions, garlic, courgettes and carrots. Put the lid on and allow to sweat on the top of the oven until soft. Then add the lamb shank and allow it to brown. Pour in the stock, add the herbs and the plums. Cover the top of the pan with tinfoil and then put the lid on to keep in all the moisture. Put in the oven at about 180C and cook for about two hours or a bit more. Slow cooking is the essence. Make sure it doesn´t dry out and add more water during cooking if necessary.

A mash of potatoes and sweet potatoes goes very well with this dish and soaks up the gravy wonderfully.

If you can’t find fresh plums then you can use prunes, which are dried plums. But soak them for a few hours first and use both the prunes and the water.

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©Phillip Bruce 2009