Slow Cooked Greek Lamb Pita

If there is a culture that best handles secondary cuts of lamb it has got to be the Greeks. With minimal fuss and long cooks, they tease out the rich savoury flavours of one of Australia’s favourite proteins. Here we have made great use of our lamb hind shanks by cooking them to fork tender and serving them in a Greek pita along with all the usual accompaniments. An easy, finger licking family meal and good value to boot.

Serves 4       Prep Time: 10 mins       Cook Time: approx. 3 hours

Cook Style: Oven       Skill Level: Easy Peasy

Ingredients

• 2 x Dirty Clean Food Lamb hind shanks

Seasoning

• 2 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 Tbsp dried mint
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ⅔ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced

To Serve

• Good quality store bought hummus
• 4 pita wraps
• Greek style salad of cucumbers, tomato, red onion and feta

Method

1. Preheat oven 150℃
2. For the seasoning, stir together oregano, mint, salt, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl to make a paste.
3. Line the base of a casserole dish or heavy based baking tray with sliced lemons.
4. Place lamb hind shanks on top and smother with herb paste.
5. Combine vinegar, stock and caster sugar, then pour into the baking dish around the lamb.
6. Cover the baking dish with a lid or tightly wrap with foil, and roast for 3 hours or until lamb is tender and falling off the bone.

To Serve

1. Spread hummus onto wraps, fill with lamb and top with a generous serving of Greek salad.

Notes

Two hind shanks will provide just enough meat for the 4 wraps, so if you have hungry teens, want leftovers or have an extra at the table, I would cook extra shanks.

These slow cooked shanks could also be alternatively served with soft warm polenta and steamed greens for a more sophisticated meal.

Add a tin of crushed tomato around the base of the shanks with the stock mix for a tomato based sauce and spoon over steamed rice. 

While you’re slow cooking the shanks why not pop some veggies in the oven to slow cook. Try Potatoes with tomato and olives. Perfect to serve with the shanks.