Slow Cooker Forelegs of Lamb

Mooching around the meat counter I came across something I had not seen before, foreleg shanks of lamb. Slimmer and less meaty than a hind shank but also a fraction on the cost - 5 for £5.  So home I went and dragged out the slow cooker for a take on this recipe

Slow Cooker Forelegs of Lamb in Red Wine & Chorizo

5 forelegs of lamb

1 onion chunky chopped

1 glass of rioja

200ml beef stock

20ml balsamic vinegar

1 can of chopped tomatoes

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 cloves garlic, peeled & halved

2 cooking chorizo, sliced

handful frozen peas

S&P

Chuck everything, except peas, into the slow cooker and mix about and whack on high for 7 hours.

Remove the shanks and place on a baking tray in the oven for 10mins at 180oc, to crisp up slightly.

Pour the sauce into a pan and reduce, whilst skimming off the fat.  Toss in the peas and season to taste, possibly add a drizzle of honey to sweeten if required.

Lay the lamb on a bed of mashed potato and liberally pour over the sauce.  Yum.

The meat was so tender it fell off the bone and in general was more satisfying than having cooked it in the oven.

Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder with Rioja & Chorizo

Whilst viewing my Twitter feed it was mentioned that one of the ladies I follow had tried this recipe from BBC Food website, it sounded delicious so I thought I would give it a go.

I could not find any lamb shanks so I substituted half a lamb shoulder, the twitterer said that next time she would reduce the amount of Balsamic vinegar used, so I took note and reduced it. 

The result was a wonderful unctuous sauce, not too strong but with punchy flavours of wine and garlic, softened with the sweetness of honey coating a soft and tender piece of lamb which melted off the bone.  Served with loads of fluffy mashed potato and cabbage a real autumnal treat on a cold Friday night with a glass of the remaining Rioja.

Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder with Rioja & Chorizo

Taken from Lorraine Pascale's Rioja Braised Lamb Shanks with Chorizo & Garlic

Serves 3-4

1/2 shoulder lamb

12 floz Rioja wine

6 floz Balsamic vinegar

1 bulb garlic, cut horizontally

2 bay leaves

2 tsp paprika

Small handful black peppercorns

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

10floz beef stock

4 oz chorizo

1 large red onion, cut into wedges

2 carrots, chopped

Dash honey to taste

Oil for frying

S&P

Heat oven to 150oc.  Season the lamb with S&P. Pour oil into heavy bottomed pan and set on high heat.  Brown the lamb all over, remove from pan and put to one side. 

In the same pan, pour off excess fat if too much.  Pour in the wine and balsamic vinegar and boil for 5 minutes.  Add the lamb, garlic, bay, paprika, peppercorns, half the rosemary and stock.  Cover and bring to the boil.

Once boiling, place the pan into the oven and cook for 2 hours, turning the meat after 1 hour.

Remove from oven and add the chorizo, onion, carrots and honey (I used about 1 tbsp) and the remaining rosemary, return to the oven and cook for a further hour or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the meat and veg and keep warm.  Place the pan over a high heat and boil till thickened for 5-10 mins.  I did at this point drain off some of the fat from the lamb.

Serve with mash and greens of your choice.

Lamb in a Pan

Whilst flicking through some of Mother's magazines I spied this receipe and it ticked all my boxes - easy, one pot dish, yummy looking - so I pinched it.  It came from the April 2011 issue of House Beautiful, but I have changed a few bits to suit 2 greedy people.

Roast Lamb with Summer Vegetables & Mint Pesto

500g Jersey new potatoes

500g lamb neck fillet, cut into chunky cubes

3 cloves garlic - chopped finely

1 small aubergine, cut into chunks

1 red pepper, deseeded and chunked

1 onion, chunky chopped

2 tbsp Olive Oil

S&P

For the Pesto

6 tbsp toasted roasted flaked almonds

Big bunch of fresh mint leaves

2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 tbsp Olive Oil

S&P

Place the potatoes, lamb, garlic, aubergine, red pepper and onion into a roasting pan, drizzle over the oil, season well and toss around to get everything coated.

Pop into an oven at 190oc/170oc fan and roast away for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, take your almonds, mint leaves and mustard and blitz in a blender, when a rough paste is achieved dribble in the oil whilst the machine is still whirring away, season to taste.  Plate up and serve the dollop of pesto over the top.

This really was easy and it looked special and was extremely tasty.  The mint pesto was so fresh and cut through the fatty lamb.  Next time I may add a few herbs to the roasting tin with the lamb, a sprig of fresh rosemary probably, just something to give it a little lift or may be even spike to pesto with something a little sharper, lemon maybe, just to give it a little zing.

Apologies for the piccys, only had my phone to hand!