Lamb Filo Cigars

Inspired by our last visit to Little Creatures in Fitzroy, we decided to whip up some turkish lamb filo cigars - I wasn't quite sure what to call them, but that's the best description I can come up with!

From new

I started by making our lamb shanks (recipe below).  To the usual recipe I also added a couple of teaspoons of ground coriander, and a tablespoon of ground cumin to make it a bit more middle eastern.  K then shredded all the meat, and mixed it through with some of the sauce to make the filling.  We then simply wrapped them up in 3 layers of buttered filo pastry, and baked in the oven at 200deg for about 15 minutes.  I served them with some of the sauce from the shanks, and some greek yoghurt with chopped mint and lemon juice added.

Sam and Kara's Lamb Shank recipe - inspired by 'Huey' - that crazy brace-wearing man

2 lamb shanks
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot diced
3 celery sticks diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
4 bay leaves
olive oil
(other ingredients are in the recipe)

In a cast iron/heavy based dutch oven, brown off the lamb shanks.  Remove, and cook the onion and garlic in olive oil over a low heat until translucent.  Add the carrot, celery and bay leaves and cook until they are soft.

Add 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 2 glasses of red wine and 2 of white wine, 1 bouquet garni, and reduce by half.  Add about 2.5 cups of passata, 2 tsp of smoky paprika, 2 tbsp tomato relish and 2 cups of beef stock, mix well and bring to the boil.  Add the shanks back in, put the lid on, and pop in the oven on 180deg and cook for around 3 hours, or until the meat is falling apart.  This not only tastes good, it makes your house smell awesome!  Serve on mash potatoes.