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Chocolate Chilli Braised Lamb

It tastes as good as it sounds!
Course Dinner
Cuisine Worldwide
Keyword braised lamb shanks, koonara winery, lamb shanks
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 805kcal
Author AnotherFoodBlogger

Equipment

  • ovenproof saucepan/dutch oven
  • Chopping board
  • Chef Knives
  • measuring/weighing utensils
  • saucepan
  • frying pan
  • potato masher
  • stick blender

Ingredients

  • 4 lamb shanks 3-400g each
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 celery
  • 1 large carrot
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 red chilli
  • 1 anise
  • 300 ml red wine
  • 500 ml beef stock
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 20 g dark chocolate
  • salt & pepper

Sweet Potato Mash

  • 800 g sweet potatoes
  • 40 g butter
  • salt & pepper

Fried Kale

  • 1 bunch kale removed from stalk
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Lamb

  • Dice the onion, carrot, chili & celery into small even sized pieces
  • Season the lamb and sear in a hot oven-proof pan with olive oil – 8 minutes
  • Remove the lamb from pan and cook the diced vegetables until soft – 2/3 minutes
  • Add anise, stock & red wine. Bring to a simmer, add lamb and cover
  • Cook in the oven @ 150c for approx. 90 minutes or until lamb is falling off the bone
  • Remove from the oven – discard the anise and remove the lamb, cover and keep warm
  • Add the chocolate and reduce the sauce by ½ (approx. 15-20 minutes) and blend until smooth
  • Add lamb back in and simmer for a couple minutes, coating lamb with the sauce

Sweet Potatoes

  • Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 2cm pieces
  • Boil in salted water until soft (approx. 12-15 minutes)
  • Remove from water, allow the steam to evaporate for a minute.
  • Add butter and mash – I like to keep mine slightly chunky to add texture to the dish

Kale

  • Fry kale for 2-3 minutes with olive oil and seasoning in a hot pan

Notes

Tips/Tricks

  • the lamb shanks can be made in advance – in fact, most slow-cooked dishes taste better reheated as it gives a chance for the spices to blend together as it cools 
  • lamb shanks can be frozen – I recommend removing meat from the bone to make it easier for you. That is unless you want to keep the bone for presentation purposes
  • not a chocolate fan? You can omit the chocolate or reduce the quantity no problem but I like the extra flavour the chocolate & chilli bring to the dish
  • searing the lamb at the start is very important. It helps release some of the fat but the more colour you get on them the more flavour it adds. Just don’t burn them 😉

Nutrition

Calories: 805kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 619mg | Potassium: 1776mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 32246IU | Vitamin C: 80mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 7mg