We hooked up with the lovely Nicole a few weeks back and got all the goss on her new projects and her delish hummingbird cake recipe.  Today she is serving up this finger licking dish to take us into the weekend.  And of course, I’m mad for a good shank or two!

With Autumn well settled in we’re having much cooler days, so now is the perfect time to look at our diet and start adding in some warming, nourishing foods. One of my favourite things to cook during the cooler months is slow cooked cuts of meat. They’re really cheap to buy, easy to cook and full of gut healing properties. The act of slow cooking leaches the vitamins, minerals and nutrients from the bones, joints and cartilage which in turn helps to seal and heal the mucosal lining of our gut. Eating slow cooked meats also benefits our skin, hair and nails leaving them strong and shiny.

Here’s one of my favourite winter warming dishes…

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shanks:

1 Tb butter or ghee
6 lamb shanks
1 onion, sliced
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups beef broth (or stock)
500 grams sweet potato chopped
1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted

In a cast iron pot with a lid heat the butter on the stove top. Add the lamb shanks and turn to brown each one (you may need to do this in batches). Set lamb aside.

Add the vegetables and spices to the pan and saute for 5 minutes.

Stir in the stock.

Add the lamb back to the pan, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Keep checking the liquid and add more bone broth if required.

Add the dates and sweet potato, cover then simmer for 30 minutes longer. Season.

Serve on top of millet, amaranth or brown rice, or with mashed potatoes. If you have it, serve with fermented vegetables such as kimchi or sauerkraut which help your digestive system to break down the protein in the meat.