Dinner for two anyone? Here’s a delightful recipe, Prune Honey Lamb Shanks. Capable of satisfying a serious hankering for meat, but a small enough serving to provide dinner for you and just one other. Isn’t that great?!
So many people complain to me that they are constantly flabbergasted when searching for a recipe for a meal for themselves and their partner. They tell me that they find it very difficult to find recipes for two.
of course, It’s great to have recipes that serve enough to feed the family or a party of guests but there are times when you just want to cook for two and not have to deal with working out what to do with the leftovers. Thankfully today’s recipe fits the bill.
I have also treated this issue as a call to action and I have shared many recipes for two. See a few below you might like to try.
Prune Honey Lamb Shanks has an obvious sweetness to it, but the gamey flavor of the lamb and additional ingredients such as garlic, saffron, ginger, red wine and chipotle help balance out the sweet earthy flavors.
A kick of heat is a vital ingredient in this recipe, but you can nix it if heat isn’t your thing. If you do enjoy a spicy dish, don’t go crazy with the heat. I suggest you remove the seeds in the chipotle for this dish. Just cut off the top of the chipotle and either squeeze out the seeds by pushing a spoon down the length of the chili. Or you can cut a slit lengthways and drag out the seeds with a spoon. Whatever works best for you.
You can cook this recipe in a dutch pot, instant pot or tagine, any vessel will provide a tasty dish. However, you will have to adjust the cooking time. See the quick guide below.
- Dutch Pot: braise for 2 hours
- Instant Pot: 30-40 mins
- Tagine: 1 1/2 hours- 2 hours in the oven at 380 degrees (only one cup of broth needed)
Prune Honey Lamb Shanks is a combination of complex flavors. With that in mind, serve with plain rice, quinoa, couscous.
Prune Honey Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 lamb shanks approx. 1 lb each
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 large carrot sliced into 1 inch chunks
- 2 x 1/3 cup pitted prunes
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads
- 1 chipotle in adobo seeds removed and chopped
- 1 tsp adobo sauce
Equipment & Utensils
- Dutch Pot
Instructions
- Rinse shanks in cool water to get rid of any bone debris, then pat dry with paper towels.
- Sprinkle shanks with salt on all sides and set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in dutch pot then carefully lower shanks into the sizzling oil.
- Brown shanks on all sides, then remove pot from heat.
- Remove shanks from pot and set aside.
- Return pot to heat, and once oil is sizzling, add carrot, 1/3 cup of prunes, garlic and ginger.
- Cook until aromas release, picking up the brown bits at the bottom of the pot to incorporate the flavors left behind by the shanks.
- Add red wine, honey and broth, then sprinkle the saffron threads on top and stir to combine.
- As soon as the broth begins to bubble, lower heat to medium.
- Add chipotle and adobo sauce and stir, lower heat to low, cover and allow to cook for 1 hour.
- Check shanks, a tasty sauce should have developed. Stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover again and allow to cook for another hour.
- Check shanks again, the sauce should have thickened and taste smokey and slightly sweet.
- Add remaining prunes and stir, then cook for a final 10 minutes, or until meat is easily pulled from the bone.
