What’s for dinner? Paleo style lamb shanks with pumpkin
Lamb shanks, when they’re cooked well, are the epitome of simple, honest food and this basic but seriously tasty recipe is just that. Paleo style lamb shanks, cooked slowly with herbs and organic vegetables are pretty hard to beat!
I cook this dish in my thermal cooker, but it could easily be adapted to a slow cooker or even a casserole dish in the oven.
What you’ll need:
- Two lamb shanks
- Duck fat, lard or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup stock (I used chicken stock)
- One onion
- One carrot
- Two small zucchinis or one large
- Two sticks of celery
- A couple of handfuls of baby spinach
- One hot chilli
- Two sprigs of rosemary
- A small bunch of fresh thyme
- One large Portugese oregano leaf
- Salt & Pepper to taste
The how to:
- Brown off the lamb shanks in a pan with some duck fat or coconut oil. Once well coloured, add the stock and chopped vegetables and herbs and simmer for 15 minutes (I do this in the top - smaller - pot from my thermal cooker).
- At the same fill the large (bottom pot) from the thermal cooker to about half way with water and bring to the boil.
- Once the 15 minutes simmering time for the lamb shanks is up, place on top of the large pot of boiling water and then seal both in the thermal cooker.
- Leave for between five to seven hours to do it’s thing. (I got mine ready late morning and it was perfect at dinner time).
I served this tonight with some mashed pumpkin and fermented daikon and it was delicious. The meat from those shanks was just falling off the bone…. 
Note: If you’ve not heard of Portugese oregano, it’s known by lots of different names! Check it out here. It’s got great health properties and grows like a weed as well as tasting good!
That’s a picture of Portugese Oregano below.
So how easy is that! Thermal cookers rock! No watching or worrying. No electricity required. Just heat, seal and leave it to do it’s thing.
Slow cooker method: If you’re using a slow cooker, just do step one to the point that the shanks have some colour then add all ingredients to the slow cooker and leave to cook for probably about 5 or 6 hours.
Casserole dish method: The casserole method will require the same beginning as both other methods, except add all to a casserole dish with a lid, then cook slowly in a medium oven (about 180 Celcius) for about 3 hours.
