The Official Six Crazy Minutes Cookbook

Stulikesdrums · Mar 29, 2011

Hello and welcome to the "Official" Six Crazy Minutes Cookbook.

Following on from Vlad's slow cooker thread and Brad's recent 'Eating in the Age of Austerity' thread I thought it was high time we had a dedicated thread to recipes. We have people from all over the world posting on SCM and many of us have expressed a strong interest in cooking and sharing recipes. I myself love spending a few hours on the dinner when the weekend rolls around and I have the time to do it! I am also very appreciative of those 'quick-fix' recipes where you can put meals together during the week when you don't have as much time but you still want something tasty and satisfying. I am starting to sound like a poncy cook book now so I'll shut up and post a recipe for Braised Lamb Shanks with Barley and Rosemary that I made Sunday gone. It was a lovely dish.

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil
4 lamb shanks, well trimmed and knuckles removed
200g (7oz) carrots, cut into wedges
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 fresh rosemary sprig, plus extra to garnish
50g (2oz) pearl barley, washed
1.5 litres (2 1/2 pints) beef stock
600ml (1 pint) red wine
1 tsp light muscovado sugar (optional)
12 baby pearl onions, peeled
1kg (2 1/4lb) potatoes, cut into chunks
75g 93oz) butter
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped (about 6 in total)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas 3. Heat oil in a large casserole with a lid over a high heat. Add the lamb shanks and fry until lightly browned on all sides, turning regularly with a tongs. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, onion and garlic to the pan and sautÃ© for about 5 minutes until lightly golden. Tip into a bowl and set aside.

Return the lamb shanks to the casserole with the herbs and barley. Pour over the stock and wine to cover. Season to taste and cover tightly with foil and then the lid. Bring to the boil before transferring to the oven to braise for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the casserole from the oven, add the reserved vegetables and pearl onions and cook for another hour until the lamb is very tender and almost falling off the bone.

Strain the cooking liquid into a separate wide pan and then put the lid back on the casserole to keep the lamb shanks and vegetables warm. Bring the cooking liquid back to a simmer, then cook for 25-30 minutes until reduced to a sauce consistency. Season to taste and if you think that the sauce is too bitter add the sugar.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes or until completely tender. Drain and mash until smooth. Melt the butter in a sautÃ© pan over a medium heat and sautÃ© the spring onions for 2-3 minutes until tender but not coloured. Beat in the mashed potatoes and season to taste.

To serve, spoon the mashed potatoes on to serving plates and arrange a lamb shanks on top of each one. Spoon the vegetables to the side and drizzle around the reduced sauce. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

I have now purchased an excellent dish that will enable me to do more stews and casseroles. Anyone got any good recipes for slow roasting?
Feel free to share.

Stulikesdrums · Mar 29, 2011