BRETT-REID.COM

I like making food that I can spend 15 minutes on and then leave for 1 or 2 hours while I get other things done. The Lamb Shank recipe and this one are exactly that. This chicken curry recipe will serve 3-4 people and is good for the next few days if refrigerated. Jackie is obsessed with this curry She makes top quality Basmati rice to go with this but I haven’t included that recipe as you can have it over any rice or even mash or toast.

I enjoy cooking, it’s something that relaxes me. I can forget about the code and focus on creating something else.

On the boat we ate quite a bit of ‘Angus’ Sirloin, I also had it a few times in the UK - seems Sirloin is a more popular cut up north. I have never been a fan of pan-fried steaks having grown up around braai’s but they managed to get it tasting pretty damn good. So the other day Jackie and I were shopping and I grabbed a 2-pack of ‘matured sirloin’ (from Superspar @ Paddocks) which looked pretty good. I also grabbed some red onions, red wine and watercrest. I set out making my first pan-fried sirloin. I fried the steaks in a hot pan with a little oil and when we sat down to eat, the steaks were appalling. It was actually one of the worst steaks I had ever eaten and I was horrified that I had produced it. The only other pan-fried steaks I had attempted were rumps and those seemed to come out okay? So what went wrong? How could I have totally destroyed this cut of meat? I had to get this right.

I was thinking about things I could cook for dinner and Lamb Shanks came to mind. My dads friend Gilby Samassa used to make a killer lamb shank. He used to grill them in a pizza oven which, unfortunately, I didn’t own So I checked some recipes online. I couldn’t find one I liked but I got the general idea of what’s involved in the cooking process: Create bed of flavour, add liquid, simmer for 2-3 hours. Everything else is just a variation on that framework.

Mine is: Lamb Shanks in port/red wine with rosemary/thyme served on a bed of mash.

First job is to get some nice fat lamb shanks from your local supermarket or butcher. It’s usually 1 shank per person but if you’re a big eater go for 2. Have the size of your biggest pot in mind though Ingredients you’ll need are: