Aromatic Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole

I pulled this evening’s dinner out of the oven just after 2 o’clock today – Aromatic Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole – took a quick photo and decided to post it immediately. Hopefully it will give my appreciative Cabinet of Cookery readers another delicious meal option for an upcoming family dinner. Best off all, the oven does most of the cooking for you. Pop it in, walk away and dinner is done!

I have made a version of this previously using meaty lamb shanks, as per the suggestion in an original recipe by Nigella Lawson. I have tweaked her recipe slightly and I am so pleased with the result detailed below.

I now have an abundant pot of oh-so-tender lamb, infused with the most marvellous combination of spices that have left my house beautifully fragranced. Even those people who profess to not liking the “lamb-y taste of lamb” will groan with delight when they taste this dish. I encourage you to give it a go. Oh, and if your children attempt to lick their plates because this dish tastes so, so good, just remind them that they are NOT a cat and therefore must use cutlery or a piece of bread instead. Mmmm, I can’t wait for dinner!

Aromatic Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole to generously feed 8 – 10 people when served with rice, couscous, quinoa or polenta.

Ingredients

extra virgin olive oil

2 kg diced lamb (I used a combination of shoulder and leg, expertly diced by my butcher who is far more experienced and less likely to lose a finger doing it)

2 Spanish onions finely diced

2 large cloves of garlic crushed

4 carrots cut into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

sea salt (I used a heaped teaspoon)

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons sherry

3 tablespoons lentils (reach for your favourite variety or whatever is readily available)

150 ml water

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees conventional setting (or 150 degrees fan forced).

In a large bowl, toss together the lamb, all of the spices, flour and salt.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to your pan – I pulled out my trusty cast iron Le Creuset – with the onions, garlic and carrots and sauté this mixture over a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove to a clean bowl.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to your pan and brown the lamb in four batches, adding a little more oil in between each batch to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Return all the lamb and veggies to the pan and pour in the honey, soy, sherry, water and lentils and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil and then immediately place the pot with the lid ON, into the oven for 2.5 hours.

This dish can be served straight from the oven, or cooled down, refrigerated and warmed through the next day. Serve with a bowl of sour Greek style yoghurt and some flat bread to mop up all those sticky sauces.