#primalrecipes

Rich tomato and slow cooked lamb shank curry with spinach.

This doesn't look like much but it is absolutely delicious, utterly rich and warming and such good comfort food as the Autumnal nights start to creep in on us. The preparation time takes about 20 minutes and cooking time is 10 hours.

Serves 2-3 2 lamb shanks 1 tbsp ghee 2 medium onions sliced 1/2 red chilli chopped 1 inch of fresh ginger chopped 2 garlic cloves crushed 6 curry leaves 1.5 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp turmeric 7 cardamom seeds 1 tbsp tomato purée 2 tins of tomatoes (can be chopped or whole it doesn't really matter) 1 tsp amino acids

Heat the oven to 120C.

Start by browning the lamb shanks in a casserole pot (one that has a lid for the cooking later) with the ghee, once browned on all sides remove from the pan and set to one side. Add the onions, chilli and ginger to the warmed ghee in the casserole pan. Cook until soft and starting to colour, add the garlic and all spices (garam masala, ground coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom and curry leaves), stir for 30 seconds and then add the tomato purée  stir for another 30 seconds before adding the tinned tomatoes and amino acids.

At this stage bring to a simmer and add the browned lamb shanks. Put the lid on and transfer to the oven for 10 hours, the timing does not need to be too precise as at this low heat it won't burn and with the lid on it won't dry out, so don't panic if it is a bit longer or shorter. I did mine overnight so it was in from roughly 9pm to 7am the next morning.

When you remove the dish from the oven take the lambs shanks out and remove the bones, they will literally fall out of the meat. Throw away the bones and replace the meat in the casserole dish. Please note there are two bones in the shanks (or at least there were in mine) one is the large long bone through the middle but the second is around the bottom of the shank and is more like a small disk...try to get this one as well to avoid broken teeth.

Don't panic if the top of the curry is a bit browned/nearly blackened when you open the dish you can stir the darker crust back in no problem and this adds to the rich flavour. Obviously if anything is charcoal consistency or very burnt then try to remove it from the pan rather than stir it back in.

I used to honestly believe I'd never be able to poach eggs without some kind of act of God.  Then, in Costa Rica, a lady from Canada who commands tank fleets for a living showed me how to do it on a stove with inconsistent heat in a pot big enough to feed a small army, and the clouds parted - yet another amazing way to eat eggs. 

Bring 2-3 inches of water to a rolling boil.  Get liberal with your vinegar, add at least two tablespoons, if not more, to that water.  This will help keep your eggs together.  Crack in those oh-so-tasty organic eggs, trying to keep them close enough to the water that they don't splash.  Push them around gently with a slotted spoon to make sure they don't stick to the bottom, and give 'em about 5 or so minutes to cook.  The more "done" you like your yolks, the longer you can leave them in.  Remove with a slotted spoon and make sure to drain the water or you'll get "egg soup" instead of just tasty, tasty eggs.

Serve with a generous helping of bacon, seasoned with salt and pepper or hollandaise sauce, and enjoy!