Tag: slow cooking

Moroccan style Lamb Shanks with Pumpkin

Today I’m sharing a slow cooker recipe using lamb shanks.
After my last post on slow cooking, I have had a request for an easy, healthy recipe.
So I thought I would share this one for Moroccan style Lamb Shanks with Mashed Pumpkin.

I found this recipe in a Coles magazine and it is really tasty. I made very few changes to it.

Usually I adapt it to feed 2 and that is how I will share it today.

Moroccan Style Lamb Shanks with Mashed Pumpkin

Serves 2 – Cooking time is 8 hours

Ingredients

2 Lamb Shanks
1 400g tin diced tomatoes
½ red onion – sliced
2 garlic cloves – crushed
1 red chilli – sliced or whole (we left the chilli whole and removed it on serving)
2 bay leaves
1 tbs cumin seeds (or ground)
1 tbs coriander seeds (or ground)
juice & zest of 1 lemon

approx. 400g pumpkin – peeled and diced
1 tbs butter
Mint & parsley leaves – chopped to serve

Method

* If you have a large enough pan, you may choose to brown the shanks first, which we didn’t.

Brown the onion in a fry pan, and then add it to the slow cooker.
Place the cumin & coriander seeds in a mortar & pestle and break down into a powder.
Add to the slow cooker, along with the garlic, chilli, lemon, bay leaves and tomatoes.

Stir to combine, and then add the lamb shanks, ensuring to spoon some of the tomato mixture over them.
Cover and cook on low or auto (depending on your cooker) till the meat is starting to fall off the bone.
If the tomato sauce is too thin, leave the lid off your cooker and turn it up to high for approx. 30 minutes till it thickens.

Bake or steam the pumpkin till soft.
Mash well, mixing in butter and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Place the pumpkin mash into bowls and top with lamb mixture.
Sprinkle a mix of chopped parsley and mint to serve.

I hope you enjoy eating this tasty, healthy meal perfect for a cold evening.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Slow Cooker Cooking – A Healthy Option

Todays post is about slow cooker cooking.

One of the things I love about this time of year is that with the cooler weather, we use our slow cooker more often. There are several advantages with using a slow cooker. 

One being that you can make lovely dishes with cheaper cuts of meat. It is also a healthy way to cook.
Though the cheaper cuts tend to be a little bit tough, the moist cooking method and longer cooking time result in fork tender meat. These cuts are also usually lower in fat. This helps to lower the fat content as well as the calorie content of the meal.

What about nutrition?

With all cooking techniques, there may be some breakdown in nutrients. Though there are a few nutrients, such as lycopene, which turn out to be more easily absorbed after cooking.
The advantage of slow cooking over other methods is that the food is cooked at a relatively low heat for a longer period of time. Cooking “slow and low” in a sealed chamber helps to keep the moisture and the nutrients in your food. 

It also helps to prevent the formation of cancer-causing compounds – such as lipid oxidation products (LOPs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). These dangerous compounds form when most types of meat and some fats are cooked at high temperature.

Unlike boiling or steaming, the dish still contains the nutrients. These are usually in the juices which are served as part of the meal. However, the nutrient content of the dish will always depend on the ingredients you use.

What about the bones?

There has been a lot of health revelations in regards to ‘bone broth’ recently and how good it is for us. Well, using your slow cooker to cook lamb shanks or osso bucco and other ‘bone in ‘ cuts, means you are getting the benefits of a bone broth.

Animal bones are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. These are the same minerals needed to build and strengthen our bones. The marrow provides vitamin A, vitamin K2, minerals like zinc, iron, boron, manganese and selenium, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

In some cuts you may get some connective tissue, which provides glucosamine and chondroitin. These compounds are known to support joint health. All of these animal parts also contain the protein collagen, which turns into gelatine when cooked. This then creates several important amino acids.

As the ingredients simmer away, their nutrients are released into the water in a form your body can easily absorb.


It’s so easy.

The best thing about slow cooker cooking is how easy it is. You put all the ingredients into the pot, turn it on and go to work. When you get home your dinner is ready and waiting. It takes minimal effort to create a nutritious, tasty meal.

So, next time you are thinking about what to cook on a cold evening, think slow cooker.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

(Sources – Huffington Post, bbc Good food, Healing gourmet, Healthline)