POLOKWANE – Looking to indulge a bit for dinner tonight? Add this South African twist to a classic dish and impress the family.

What’s for Dinner says these tender lamb shanks in a rich tomato and olive sauce make an excellent meal for a celebration, and are delicious with creamy, cheesy samp and spicy chakalaka.

Ingredients

– 150g butter
– 10 small onions, quartered lengthways
– 5 lamb shanks
– 500ml red wine
– 1 x KNORR Lamb & Rosemary Gravy
– 1 x KNORR Brown Onion Gravy
– 2 x 400g tins whole peeled tomatoes
– salt and ground black pepper
– 200g Calamata olives, drained
– 625ml quick-cooking white samp
– 250ml milk
– 1 x KNORR Sour Cream and Chives Potato Bake Sauce
– 250ml grated Cheddar
– 30ml vegetable oil
– 1 onion, chopped
– 1 green pepper, diced
– 1 yellow pepper, diced
– 4 large carrots, cut into fine strips
– 250ml sundried tomatoes
– 1 x 400g tin baked beans in tomato sauce
– 30ml sugar
– 1 x KNORR Mild Durban Curry Dry Cook-in-Sauce
– a handful of chopped chives, to garnish the samp
– fresh herbs, to garnish the lamb

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
– Melt 100g of the butter in a large oven-proof roasting pan. When it is nutty and almost brown, add the 10 quartered onions and cook gently for a few minutes. Then add the lamb shanks and brown them on all sides over a medium-high heat.
– While the lamb is browning, whisk together the red wine and the contents of the sachets of KNORR Lamb & Rosemary Gravy and KNORR Brown Onion Soup. Pour this mixture over the shanks and add 1½ tins of tomatoes (keep the remaining half-tin for later). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
– Cover the pan with tin foil or a lid and place in the oven. Immediately turn the heat down to 150 °C and slow-roast the shanks for 2½ hours. Every so often, check on the pan and add a little water (up to 500ml) if the sauce seems too thick.
– After 2½ hours, stir in the olives and the reserved half-tin of tomatoes. Place the pan back in to oven, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, or until the lamb is soft, succulent and falling off the bone.
– While the lamb is roasting, place the samp in a large pot and cover with water (about 750ml). Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
– In separate bowl, whisk together the milk and the contents of the sachet of KNORR Sour Cream and Chives Potato Bake. Fold this mixture into the samp and cook for a further 20 minutes. Stir often and keep checking that the samp doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Add more water if necessary.
– When the samp is nice and soft, stir in the remaining 50g butter and the grated Cheddar, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
– To make the chakalaka, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and peppers over a high heat. Once they are beginning to soften but are still slightly crunchy, add the carrots, sundried tomatoes, baked beans and sugar, and stir in the contents of the sachet of KNORR Mild Durban Curry Dry Cook-in-Sauce plus 250ml water. Mix well, turn down the heat and simmer until the chakalaka is thick.
– Scatter the samp with chopped chives.
– Garnish the lamb shanks with fresh herbs and serve with the creamy hot samp and spicy chakalaka.

raeesak@nmgroup.co.za