Shankadelic Baby!

Statistically, how often do you think someone breaks down and starts sobbing in an appliance store? Based on the horrified look on Brian the Salesman's face I'm going to guess not often. Well, he asked for it. You see, I went to buy a new stove not because I wanted to but because I had to. Replacing my deeply deeply loved old stove was a very painful decision which Brian should have considered before he asked me if I'd be "dumping" my old stove. Based on the amount of mucus on his Pep stores shirt I'm thinking Brian learnt a very valuable lesson on Friday.

My Defy Super Twenty was 46 years old. She was bought in 1966 when my parents got married and has fed our family and friends ever since. Though my mom officially retired from making anything edible a decade ago she used to be a cracking hostess that provided (the Mercedes owning) half of Saldanha with three course meals for 35 years. I'm surprised I didn't grow up thinking crayfish live in ovens...

So naturally when the new stove arrived I glared at it suspiciously. I was overwhelmed by the choice of four functioning plates instead of just one. Not only that but I switched a plate on and it was actually hot and ready for me. Very annoying. I'm used to switching my plate on, then prepping my veggies, downing a bottle of wine, learning Mandarin, watching a few episodes of Top Gear, and then, and only then, will it have reached a heat comparible to that of a manhole cover on a hot day. 

And let me not start on the oven. It has OPTIONS. Grills and fans and choices of where the heat must come from. It was like an interrogation. I was forced, absolutely forced, to down a bottle of wine once the shanks were in just to calm my nerves. That said, they were great. So we might get along once we've synchronised our coocooclocks.

But oh, how I will miss my big old shagadelic relic of the 60's. I owe her my love of cooking, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

xx

J

BAKED LAMB SHANKS ON ROOT VEGETABLE MASH

Lamb Shanks

6 Lamb shanks
1L Beef stock
1L Red wine
24 Baby onions topped tailed and peeled
4 Carrots peeled and roughly sliced
2 Sticks celery roughly sliced
2 Leeks roughly sliced
6 Cloves garlic thinly sliced
6 Bay Leaves 
2 Sticks cinnamon
2 Stalks rosemary
150g Tomato paste

50g Brown sugar

 

Season the shanks then brown on all sides in a little hot oil. Remove and put aside in an oven dish. Sauté the onions, carrots, leeks, celery, garlic and rosemary for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the stock and wine and bring to the boil. Pour over the shanks then cover tightly with a double layer of foil and bake for about 2 hours on 160C. Remove the foil and scoop out about 1L of the sauce. Thicken with maizena and stir back in. Re-cover with foil and bake for another 0.5 - 1 hour.

 

Root Vegetable Mash

 

200g Parsnips peeled and chopped 

200g Carrots peeled and chopped 

600g Potatoes peeled and chopped 

50g Butter 

1t Baking powder

 

The parsnips and carrots take a bit longer than the potatoes so first boil them for about 10 minutes then add the potatoes. Mash it together very finely, add the butter and baking powder and season.