Savoury Lamb Shank Turnovers - Recipe by Christopher The
Ingredients
Lamb shank pie filling:
200 g celery, roughly diced
250 g onion, roughly diced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bunch of rosemary, leaves picked
1 bunch of lemon thyme, leaves picked
2 kg lamb shanks
20 g fine salt
10 g ground black pepper
750 g red wine
35 g plain (all-purpose) flour
12 g cornflour (cornstarch)
Native seed mix:
20 g white sesame seeds
5 g black sesame seeds
5 g poppy seeds
5 g saltbush seeds
5 g ground wattleseed
To assemble:
1 quantity puff pastry
Egg wash
Method
For the lamb shank pie ?lling, mix the diced vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Add enough of the vegetables and herbs to the ?ameproof casserole dish to form a 1 cm thick layer. This protects the lamb from the heat of the pot.
Lay the lamb shanks on top as ?at as you can. Add the remaining vegetables and herbs on top, then the salt and pepper. Pour in 750 g water and the wine (the liquid should just cover the meat). Cover with the lid, place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and braise for about 3 hours.
Remove the lid and turn the shanks over in the liquid. If your shanks are exposed, top up with hot water. Braise until the meat falls off the bone and the rubbery sinew has melted into jelly. Remove the shanks and pick the meat off the bones, trying to keep the meat in nice chunks.
Use a chopstick to remove the bone marrow and add this back into the vegetables along with the meat. Make sure you pick through all the vegetables to remove any loose bits of bone.
Strain the liquid into a saucepan for thickening. Skim off and discard any liquid fat and place the saucepan over a medium heat to reduce until you are left with roughly 2 litres of liquid. Mix together the ?our, corn?our and 75 g water, then whisk this into the liquid and cook gently for 20 minutes until thick, stirring often. Combine with the meat and vegetables, adjusting the seasoning if necessary. Chill well.
For the native seed mix, combine all ingredients.
When you’re ready to assemble the turnovers, roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 3 mm and cut into squares 16 cm wide. Brush the edges with egg wash and place about 130 g of pie ?lling in the centre of each square. Close the ends into a triangle and gently press together without damaging the layers of pastry. Chill the turnovers at this stage to make handling easier.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
Egg-wash the turnovers, being careful to avoid getting egg on the cut edges. Sprinkle the native seed mix over the tops and place on a baking tray. Cut a couple of holes in the top of each turnover using scissors. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is dry and golden.
