Massaman braised lamb shank with pineapple, raisins, peanuts, sweet basil & seasonal vegetables

This recipe also appeared in The Independent

This recipe also appeared in The Evening Standard Online

Aromatic, fruity, sweet and sour, with savoury notes of salt & spice throughout, this massaman curry is an absolute banger.  If you are having roast lamb this Easter, make sure to keep the trim and you can skip the cooking of the lamb shank in this recipe. Instead, just add the sliced lamb leftovers to the massaman curry at the end before serving.

Serves 2 / VE / optional GF

1 lamb shank, bone in

50ml kejap manis (use GF soy sauce instead if needed)

1 teaspoon, sea salt

100ml coconut oil, vegetable oil can be used instead.

1 pot of Payst massaman, or 100g massaman curry paste,

20g unsalted roasted peanuts plus 5g chopped to garnish

50g palm sugar (unless using Payst which is pre-seasoned)

30ml tamarind water.

2 tablespoons fish sauce.

1 litre vegetable stock.

400ml coconut cream.

150g new potatoes, cut in half.

50g baby sweetcorn, chopped lengthways in half.

50g pineapple, peeled and roughly chopped into bite sized pieces.

30g raisins.

50g green beans, topped and tailed and cut in half

10g, Thai basil

10g picked and washed coriander leaves

I garnished mine with some sesame rice crackers, crispy shallots, sliced Thai shallots and beansprouts but you can just use some more peanuts, coriander and a sprig of Thai basil.

Cooked jasmine rice to serve

Firstly, season the lamb shank. Using your hands coat the lamb in the sea salt and the kejap manis, make sure to give the whole joint a thorough covering. Leave for 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge for the flavours to get to know the lamb.

Next, pour the coconut oil into a large, non-stick pan and place over a medium to high heat. Using tongues and being carful for hot oil splashes. Sear the outside of the lamb joint in the hot coconut oil, use the tongues to keep moving the meat every minute or so until the whole outer layer of the joint has been crisped and has started to brown. When ready, remove from the pan and put to one side for a moment.

 In the same pan add the massaman curry paste and fry in the residual coconut and lamb fat, add a touch more coconut fat (or vegetable oil) if needed. Make sure to keep stirring and scraping regularly, to prevent the paste sticking to the bottom of the pan. After a few minutes, add the peanuts and continue to fry for a further 3-5 minutes or so, until the paste starts to darken and the mixture smells fragrant.

Next, add the palm sugar and fry for another minute, until it dissolves and begins to caramelise, you will know when this happens as the paste will darken further. At this stage, add the fish sauce, vegetable stock and half the coconut cream and lower the heat to allow the curry to simmer and the flavours to infuse. When simmering, add the lamb shank back into the curry, it needs to be submerged so you may need to add more stock, dependent on the size of the pan. Place a lid on the pot or cover with tin foil and then simmer for 1 hour, 45 minutes, undisturbed. Check after 1 hour as you may need to top up with a little more veg stock or water. When ready, the lamb will be tender and be easily penetrated with a tablespoon.

When you are happy that the lamb is cooked to your liking, add the potatoes and raisins and allow to gently simmer in the curry for about 10 minutes, then add the baby corn, pineapple and green beans and continue to simmer for a further 8–10 minutes until all vegetables have reached the desired softness. Finish by throwing in the Thai basil, tamarind water and the rest of the coconut cream just before serving. The curry should be sweet, aromatic and savoury, if it’s too sweet add a little more fish sauce to balance.

Serve the curry in bowls and loosely shred the lamb, discarding the bones, the meat should be falling off the bone. Top with more crushed peanuts, coriander leaves and a sprig of Thai basil. Eat accompanied by steamed jasmine rice.