Taste of Shetland – Slow cooked lamb and rhubarb

This recipe from Taste of Shetland is perfect comfort food. It's simple to make and results in a lamb stew with meat that falls apart and warming flavours from the spices. Rhubarb adds a touch of sharpness. Most gardens in Shetland have rhubarb growing somewhere, and this recipe uses up any spare stalks, meaning it's a great warming dish for a cooler early autumn evening.
Ingredients:

  • 600g Diced Lamb Shoulder (you could use leg, or neck of lamb)
  • Oil for Browning Meat
  • 3 Onions (chopped)
  • 3 Cloves Garlic (crushed/chopped/sliced)
  • 2 tsp Coriandar Seeds
  • 2 tsp Cumin
  • 2 tsp Cinamon
  • 2 tsp Sumac
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Puree/Paste
  • 2 tsp Sun Dried Tomato Chili Chutney (Optional!!)
  • 2 Lamb Stock Cubes
  • 500ml Water
  • 400g Rhubarb (washed, trimmed and chopped into 2cm pieces)
  • 400g Tinned Chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp Honey
  • 30g Flat Leaf Parsley (chopped)

Instructions:

  1. Brown lamb in oil and add to slow cooker. You could use a Dutch oven or large pan, kept at a slow simmer.
  2. Add onion, garlic, spices, tomato puree, chutney (if using), stock cubes and water.
  3. Cook on high for 4 hours (if using a slow cooker) or simmer for a similar length of time, until the lamb is tender.
  4. Add chickpeas, rhubarb, honey and parsley and cook for another hour, or until rhubarb is very soft.
  5. Serve with your choice of sides - bulgur wheat and a dollop of Greek yoghurt is worth trying.

Taste of Shetland