Lamb Shank Tagine Version Two at Bistro 164

Just another version of a lovely Lamb Shank Tagine that we first made here at Bistro 164 about a year or so ago. This recipe was our earliest foray into the wonderful world of tagine cooking and we haven't looked back since! (You can view the original here.) We invited some good friends over to our place for the first time - after several visits and marvelous meals at their place we decided that we should finally return the favour. What better way to treat your guests than with a beautiful and decadent meal of lamb shank! Of course we purchased our lamb shanks from a local farm where the animals are raised humanely and without hormones....it makes for the best tasting meat in our opinion.

For our first time making this particular recipe we (mostly) followed a Jamie Oliver video and made some revisions. Last night we again mostly followed both the video and the recipe previously posted on my blog but with a couple of changes. I had about a 1/4 of a rutabaga (or turnip according to my anglocentric sous chef) left in our fridge so I diced it up and threw it in.  Also threw in a couple of handfuls of raisins. I added in a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, a couple of handfuls of diced cherry tomatoes, a big can of chickpeas,  handful of diced dried apricots, some diced garlic, a couple of handfuls of diced mini potatoes as per my original recipe . I did change up the spices a wee bit: I had a couple of tbsps of Ras el Hanout (love the spicy sweet flavour of this spice) leftover from another recipe that I had done so I rubbed it on the lamb shanks....as well as the cumin, coriander,  garam marsala, salt and pepper. I threw about 1 tsp of the spice mix into the veggies and gave it a good mix. Lots of flavour this time! Drizzled it with some olive oil, set the tagine in a preheated oven at 315 C and cooked for 2 hours. Next time I will check the meat at the 1 1/2 hour mark as the lamb was a little well done for my liking (I like it rare to medium rare and slightly pink still.) The internal temperature of the lamb was around 170 F when I took it out- it was fine and not dried out at all...but I can do better.

We served it with chopped cilantro (mmmmmcilantro), pomegranate seeds, some couscous, a bottle of Sharwood's Earl Grey Mango Ginger chutney,  some mint jelly (that the sous chef has an unnatural attachment to...it looks so unappealing to me...blech) and a yogourt mix (plain yogourt, with a spoonful of mint sauce, and juice from half a lemon.) Delicious! And oh so impressive when you place the tagine on the table in front of your guests, take the lid off revealing a beautiful sight inside: steam slowly rising off of the lamb shanks and veggies, releasing the amazing aromas of the exotic spices .... I liken it to opening up an extravagant gift. I'm pretty sure we all clapped and said our ooohs and ahhhhhs.... (at the suggestion of the sous chef... we did have a few glasses of red wine into us at this point so keep that in mind please!)

Anywho, I love changing up recipes and trying out new ingredients as you probably have realised: have never used pomegranate seeds before in a recipe...it was a great addition providing a burst of vibrant red colour to the plate and a lovely crunch in your mouth. I'm also turning into a HUGE fan of Ras el Hanout, a spice I had never really heard of or knew what to do with.  Simply amazing especially on lamb.  And obviously I am SO excited about this recipe that I just had to share it all again with you. I think it means that we truly enjoyed it, just sayin'. I think if you are a huge lamb fan like us, you should give it a go. Another one of my quiet suggestions....

Cheers from Bistro 164!