Lamb Shanks And Barley

[vykuza]

It's the wrong time of year, but even so, a batch of this is being cooked up tonight at Chez Nick.

Serves 4

4 Lamb shanks
2 large onions
half a bulb of garlic
4 ripe tomatoes
300g pearl barley
2 bay leaves
2tps thyme
300g pumpkin
1 large celeriac

Roughly chop up the onions and garlic - lightly sautee in a big soup pot.
Turn out on to a plate, crank up the heat and seal the lamb shanks - get some good colour on them. You want a nice maillard crust.
Return the onion and garlic to the pot, along with the bay leaves and cover with water. Put the lid on and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer.
Leave it for 3-4 hours, the longer the better.
Add the pumpkin and celeriac - cook for another 40 minutes
With a pair of tongs, remove the shanks, and any big chunks of meat floating around.
Add the pearl barley and the thyme - cook for 40 minutes
Shread the lamb off the bone and add back in to the pot - add salt & pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes to warm through and serve. If it's thick, call it a stew. If it's thin, it's a soup.

Enjoy!

 

[Mercs Own]

It's the wrong time of year, but even so, a batch of this is being cooked up tonight at Chez Nick.

Serves 4

4 Lamb shanks
2 large onions
half a bulb of garlic
4 ripe tomatoes
300g pearl barley
2 bay leaves
2tps thyme
300g pumpkin
1 large celeriac

Roughly chop up the onions and garlic - lightly sautee in a big soup pot.
Turn out on to a plate, crank up the heat and seal the lamb shanks - get some good colour on them. You want a nice maillard crust.
Return the onion and garlic to the pot, along with the bay leaves and cover with water. Put the lid on and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer.
Leave it for 3-4 hours, the longer the better.
Add the pumpkin and celeriac - cook for another 40 minutes
With a pair of tongs, remove the shanks, and any big chunks of meat floating around.
Add the pearl barley and the thyme - cook for 40 minutes
Shread the lamb off the bone and add back in to the pot - add salt & pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes to warm through and serve. If it's thick, call it a stew. If it's thin, it's a soup.

Enjoy!

Looks good how ever I recommend covering with equal amounts of beef stock and Ale - what ever gets your goat - Mountain Goat Stout, Malt Shovel Porter, Belgian Triple, Duval, Chimay red or blue - the white tends to go a little bitter, Holgate ESB, Prickly Moses Red Ale, Red Hill Scotch Ale, White Rabbit...or you could go a vegetable stock and a wheat beer with a slice of orange rind...... Too many possibilities. The weather is right now so go forth and experiment!