I eat a lot of lamb in Cyprus. Well, I tend to think a lot of people who are meat eaters in Cyprus tend to eat a lot of lamb in Cyprus. This is an easy recipe to make, with lots of flavour. It reminds me of Cypriot stifado, but a more exotic version of it, with more spices and complexity. It’s a good recipe to use if you are looking for a new way to cook lamb. You don’t need any special equipment, so don’t worry about that. I served it with quinoa, because I just adore the pre-cooked quinoa at foodhaus – healthy, delicious and fast. But you can also serve it with rice if you prefer. On a random note, I am finally in the process of making some overdue changes to the website, so I will be excited to share that with you soon!
Preparation Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: 2
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 kg Lamb Shanks, cut into 2 inch pieces or New Zealand Lamb Shoulder Cuts
3 cups of Onion Cubes, (equivalent to 2 large onions)
2 tablespoons Chorio Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Lurpak Salted Butter
1 teaspoon Tomato Paste
3 teaspoons salt*
3/4 teaspoon black pepper*
2 cups chicken stock*
1 cup dried apricots or sultana raisons*
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger*
1 small cinnamon stick*
1/8 teaspoon saffron*
3/4 teaspoon turmeric*
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder*
1/4 cup cilantro*
8 cups Pre-Cooked Quinoa for serving with
*All ingredients available at foodhaus except for those marked with an *.
Recipe
Heat the oven to 160C. In a large dutch oven pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and butter. Once hot, add the lamb pieces, including any pieces of bone, and brown the lamb. Once browned, remove the lamb pieces.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the hot pot. Add the onions and stir for 1 minute. Then add the tomato paste, ginger, cinnamon stick, saffron, pepper, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon powder and stir for another minute. Add the chicken stock and apricots or sultana raisons.
Cover your pot with tin foil, then place the lid on top. Place in the oven for 2 & 1/2 hours.
Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.
Serve the tagine over top cooked quinoa garnished with freshly chopped cilantro.
