Hearty homemade pie with braised lamb shanks

This lamb pie has got to be one of my best tasting dinners yet and the perfect dinner for cold wet days.

Braised lamb in a rich red wine infused sauce topped with cheese-stuffed mash patties is perfect when you’re craving a hearty home-cooked meal or mom’s special casserole.

Cottage pâté with lamb shanks

Ingredients

• Four to five medium soft boiled potatoes, peeled and chopped for the mash
• Salted butter
• Dried herbs for the mash (your preference)
• 1kg lamb shanks/stew pieces – shanks work best because of the marrow bones
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic mixture
• 1 TBS steak and chop spices
• 1 TBS barbecue spices
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon masala (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 cups dark red sweet wine (Woolies Glühwein works best)
• 1 mutton stock cube (mixed in a cup of warm water)
• 10 g of tomato puree
• salt to taste
• 3 Tier TBS Cake Flour
• 200 gr Chedder/Gouda cheese cut into cubes
• 1 cup Mozzerella cheese to top it off
• cooking oil
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

Mashed potatoes

1. Boil potatoes until tender and ready to mash.
2. Add salt, dried herbs, butter and mash until smooth. – Tip: replace the salt with garlic salt for more flavor.
3. Cover and reserve.

Braised lamb shanks

1. Bring the stove to medium heat.
2. Add just enough cooking oil to cover the surface of the pan (barely).
3. Add your dried spices and the ginger-garlic mixture (steak and chops/bbq/turmeric/white pepper/masala/sugar) and sauté over medium heat for 2/3 minutes.
4. Add the pieces of lamb and sauté for about 12/15 minutes. (you can adjust the stove temperature for more heat).
5. Lower the heat from the stove and remove the pieces of lamb, cover and set aside.
6. Add the diced onion to the same pan and sauté until translucent (this should take about 5 minutes).
7. Add 2 tablespoons of butter.
8. Then add the flour and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon until it begins to thicken.
9. Add the fried lamb and mix.
10. Pour in the wine, the mutton broth and stir.
11. Add tomato paste, stir until dissolved.
12. Cover with cool weather, close the casserole and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
13. You can add water if the sauce is too thick. Remember that this also needs to go in the oven for 20 minutes.
14. Turn off the heat and let the lamb rest for about 10 minutes.
15. Start making the mash balls.

Cheese stuffed mash balls

1. Preheat the oven to 200º
2. Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the mash mixture. This will allow the balls to stay firm without breaking in the oven.
3. Transfer the lamb to a casserole dish
4. Pour a TBS of mash into the palm of your hand, squeeze a cube of cheese in the middle and roll it into a ball.
5. Cover the lamb with these cheese-stuffed meatballs.
6. Top with mozzarella and bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and serve.

NOW READ: Recipe of the day: Korean spicy noodle hack makes for an easy and delicious dinner