FIRST MEAL
FIRST HOME, FIRST MEAL
A delicious recipe created by Theo Michaels, chef, presenter and award-winning author, taken from his latest book, Cypriana
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)
Theo A Michaels was born in London to a large Greek Cypriot family. After competing in BBC TV’s MasterChef in 2014, Theo left the corporate world to earn a living in food. He regularly appeared on Channel 4’s BAFTA-nominated daytime TV show, Steph’s Packed Lunch and is the founder of FiveDinners.com. He lives in Hertfordshire, with his wife and three children.
CYPRIOT LAMB SHANKS IN A STICKY SAUCE
4 lamb shanks 2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 tbsp smoked paprika ½ tbsp ground cumin ½ tbsp ground coriander ½ tbsp ground cinnamon A pinch of cayenne pepper 1 cinnamon stick ½ tsp ground cloves or 5 whole cloves 250ml/1 cup red wine 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 tbsp Greek honey 3 dried bay leaves 100g/¾ cup pitted ready-to-eat prunes (or apricots) 500ml/2 cups passata/ strained tomatoes Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive oil, for cooking 2 tbsp toasted pistachio nuts, chopped, to garnish A generous pinch of dried rose petals to garnish Freshly chopped coriander/cilantro, to garnish (optional)
Cypriana by Theo Michaels, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£22) Photography by Mowie Kay © Ryland Peters & Small
wine by half. This will concentrate the avour of the sauce. 4 Finally, add all the other ingredients and return the lamb shanks to the pan, bottom-side down, so the bone is sticking up. Slowly add about 500ml/2 cups of water, just enough to cover the meat (the bones can stick out). Bring this to a simmer, then cover and place in the preheated oven for 2 hours. 5 Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before removing the lid. Serve the lamb shanks sitting upright, with a few ladles of the juice poured over. Garnish with the pistachios and rose petals, as well as some freshly chopped coriander, if you like.
METHOD 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) Gas 4.
2 Season the lamb shanks generously and brown them in hot olive oil in a lidded ovenproof pan until coloured all over, then remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, fry the onions slowly for about 10 minutes until they have coloured and turned a deep golden hue, then add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. 3 Add all the spices and stir through to coat the onions, then add the wine. Put on a lid and cook over a high heat to reduce the
110 First Time Buyer August/September 2024
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