Thyme and Balsamic Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
Balsamic slow cooker lamb shanks made with dried thyme and a rich flavoursome tomato sauce. Gluten free, dairy free and really easy to make!
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Servings: 2 people
Calories: 495kcal
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- fry pan
Ingredients
- 2 lamb shanks
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tin tinned tomatoes i.e. one 400g tin of tinned tomatoes, a standard size
- 1 red onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp gluten-free flour
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp honey (40 mL)
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (60 mL)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot or tapioca flour
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- You will need one large frying pan and your slow cooker to make this. You'll start with your frying pan.
- Prep your ingredients. Peel and slice the onion into thin slices, and peel and finely slice the garlic. Set aside.
- In a small bowl or mug, mix the 3 tablespoons of gluten free flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then, coat the lamb shanks in the flour, shaking off any excess. (You can do this by shaking together in a zip lock bag, or simply placing the lamb shanks on a plate/tray and dusting over the flour, turning the lamb a few times).
- Heat the frying pan up on the stove over a moderate-high heat and add half the olive oil. Pop in the lamb shanks and cook for 3-4 minutes, turning regularly so the lamb shanks are just lightly browned all over. Then remove shanks from the pan and set the shanks aside.
- Add the rest of the oil to the pan. Return it to the heat and add the onion, garlic and dried thyme. Cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and the onion is starting to turn translucent. Then, add in the balsamic vinegar, honey and tomatoes. Stir it all together until just bubbling, then remove from the heat.
- Place the sauce in the base of the slow cooker pot. Put the lamb shanks on top of the sauce, positioning the shanks so the meaty part is submerged as much as possibly in the sauce. Spoon a little bit of the sauce over the meaty parts of the lamb shanks that are sticking out of the sauce.
- Pop the lid on the slow cooker and set to cook on LOW for 8 hours (or the equivalent on HIGH - about 4 hours).
- Once the lamb has finished cooking, carefully lift out the shanks and set aside.
- If you can put your slow cooker pot directly over a heat source (i.e. you can put it on the stove), leave the sauce in the pot, otherwise transfer to a pan. Heat the sauce up until it's bubbling and stir it occasionally, allowing it to cook, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes until it reduces and thickens a little. While this is happening, dissolve the arrowroot flour in a tablespoon of water and add this to the pot as well, to help thicken the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the lamb shanks with a few generous spoonfuls of the thickened sauce, together with your favourite sides. I recommend sweet potato mash, and greens! Garnish with fresh parsley if desired (as pictured).
Notes
*Any gluten free flour will do; I used a standard gluten free flour blend but you could use rice flour, buckwheat flour, or even tapioca or cassava flour if you want to keep it grain free/paleo. Just be careful to thoroughly shake the excess off with something starchy like tapioca or cassava flour, or it will seriously thicken the sauce into something gluggy!
*Note: I wouldn’t recommend using almond meal or coconut flour as the flour in this recipe.
*If you prefer, you can use 1/2 cup red wine instead of balsamic vinegar in this recipe. I’ve used red wine plenty of times when I’ve run out of balsamic and it’s a delicious combination.
Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your creations! Take a photo and then tag me @nourish.everyday on Instagram!
Nutrition
Calories: 495kcal (25%) | Carbohydrates: 36g (12%) | Protein: 41g (82%) | Fat: 21g (32%) | Saturated Fat: 4g (25%) | Cholesterol: 127mg (42%) | Sodium: 157mg (7%) | Potassium: 544mg (16%) | Fiber: 3g (13%) | Sugar: 24g (27%) | Vitamin A: 76IU (2%) | Vitamin C: 6mg (7%) | Calcium: 81mg (8%) | Iron: 6mg (33%)