Book 20: Pressure Cooking - The Australian Women's Weekly

I love the lead up to Christmas (yes I'm aware its September), not only do I lurve the holiday season, presents, trees etc.  But its the time of year when all the new cookbooks are released!  May not sound very exciting and most normal people probably won't even notice it, but seriously everyone releases new cookbooks before Christmas and I'm like a kid in a candy store...  Or me in a book store?  There is something so magical about brand new cookbooks,  especially when you didn't know about it.  I love randomly coming across a unknown book, especially good dessert books, whilst browsing through book stores.  You can always tell if I find something good I don't have, I tend to do a really embarrassing squeal and a small amount of dancing.  I know its ridiculous that I get so excited about new cookbooks, I really shouldn't be looking at them at all, but I just love them so much.  I love that someone has found the time and motivation to knuckle down in the kitchen and invent some food.  Cos that's what cookbooks are, invented or reimagined food.  Now I'm fairly competent in the kitchen (ignoring choux pastry, scones and lasagna) but its a very rare occasion I come across something that would be worth putting in a book.  When I say 'very rare' I really mean never, if I'd ever stumbled across anything remotely book worthy I'd be on here quicker than you could say "Wow! I invented a cheesecake".  That's not true.... I'd eat it all first, whilst bragging to everyone I know and then I'd forget how to make it and what I actually made...  Damn you imaginary cheesecake!!!  (This comes with me shaking my fist at the sky, Basil Faulty style) :)

Recipe - Greek-Style Lamb Shanks

1 tblsp olive oil
4 French-trimmed lamb shanks  (I used regular)
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
410g canned crushed tomatoes
125mls dry red wine
1 sprig fresh rosemary

1.  Heat half the oil in a 6-litre pressure cooker, cook lamb in batches, until browned.  Remove from cooker.

2.  Heat remaining oil in cooker, cook onion and garlic until onion softens.  Add spices, cook until fragrant.  Return lamb to cooker with undrained tomatoes, wine and rosemary, secure lid.  Bring cooker to high pressure.  Reduce heat to stabilise pressure and cook for 30 minutes.

3.  Release pressure using the quick release method and remove lid.  Season to taste.

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This book was purchased in what I like to call my pressure cooker phase.  The problem with this pressure cooker book is that almost everything in it has meat.  Apart from a small section of desserts, the other chapters are almost exclusively meat dishes, chicken, beef, lamb etc.  Which is perfectly fine but is kinda annoying when you may not be a huge meat eater.  I have another pressure cooker book which is brilliant and includes heaps of vegetarian meals.  But if you are a meat eater and really like stewy like things, this may be the book for you!

To talk about the recipe, I need to first explain my aversion to lamb shanks.  My first experience of lamb shanks was having them boiled, have you ever had boiled lamb shanks?  The come out grey and sludgy and horrid.  So when other people drool over lamb shanks, I feel vaguely ill.  Matty on the other and adores lamb shanks, so I put aside my dislike and gave them a go.  I've got to say that they were fairly awesome.  I was a bit concerned that 30 minutes wouldn't be long enough to have them falling off the bone, I shouldn't of worried.  I actually had trouble getting them out of the pot they were falling apart that much.  This recipe recommends that you serve them with mashed potatoes, I'd also add some green veggies for colour.  The recipe is delicious and even though I'm not completely sold on shanks, they didn't make me feel sick at all :)

Thanks
Kate
xx