Arun Kapil's Jalfrezi Lamb Shanks with buttered saffron, savoy cabbage, butternut squash, peppers & tomato spiced gravy.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 4 good sized, meaty lamb shanks, bone cleaned
  • 25g unsalted butter
  • ½ a medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, chopped into chunky 25mm dice
  • 1 red and green bell pepper, each deseeded and sliced into 8, thin wedges
  • 1 x 300g jar Green Saffron Jalfrezi sauce
  • 500ml, Greek yoghurt, full fat 
  • 200ml light chicken stock

Garnish

  • 1 tblsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 red finger chilli, deseeded, finely diced
  • 1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Cabbage

  • 100ml dry white wine
  • Pinch Green Saffron saffron threads
  • 5 small shallots, peeled, halved
  • 75g unsalted butter
  • 1 Savoy cabbage, core removed, outer leaves and heart fine-sliced into ribbons
  • Sea salt, to taste

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 140°C Gas Mark 1
  2. Wrap a small strip of foil around the end of the shank bones, about 50mm wide, tie the foil cap securely with butcher’s string
  3. In a tall straight sided casserole dish, gently fry the squash and peppers in the butter for a couple of minutes, then pour in the Green Saffron sauce, the yoghurt and stock. Stir well
  4. Once the sauce has begun to bubble gently, put the shanks upright in the sauce, cover with foil, pop the lid on and place into your oven for around 4 hours, or less if the shanks are a little skinny. Basically, when finished cooking, the meat should be ‘meltingly tender’
  5. Carefully with a slotted spoon take the shanks and vegetables out, trying to make sure they hold their shape and set aside on a handy warmed plate
  6. Place the pot onto a medium heat, add the vinegar and chillies to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes stirring well to combine or until the sauce is glossy and smooth. Spoon the vegetables back into the sauce and gently stir through. Set aside.

Cabbage

  1. Steep the saffron in slightly warmed wine
  2. Gently fry the shallots in the butter for 5 minutes, add the sliced cabbage a good clutch of sea salt and the saffron wine.
  3. Cook until a glossy emulsion just coats the cabbage, adding a splash of water if necessary, (the cabbage should be just cooked so it has a slight crispness and still have its vibrant green colour.). Be ready to serve immediately, so as to retain fresh green colour.

Assembly

  1. Take four warm dinner plates, place a lamb shank on each, remove the foil cap, coat generously with the sauce and serve the saffron cabbage and a squeeze of lemon juice.