Lamb Shank Pie with Pearl Barley
Ingredients
- 6 lamb shanks, frenched
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 3 parsnips, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 500ml dry white wine
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
Method
- Preheat oven to 140°C Fan.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid over a high heat, working in batches, brown the lamb shanks on all sides and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion, carrot, celery and cook for 7 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the parsnip, garlic and herbs and cook for a further minute before stirring in the tomato paste. Return the shanks to the pot and add the wine and chicken stock, season with salt and pepper and cover with baking paper, foil then the lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2½ hours until the meat pulls easily off the bone. Remove the bay leaves and discard, remove the shanks and set aside to cool slightly before shredding the meat and discarding the bones, set lamb aside.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C.
- Add the pearl barley and vinegar and return to the oven to cook for 35-40 minutes until the pearl barley is cooked and the sauce has reduced, add the lamb to the pot and mix gently to combine. Pour into a greased 32×24 cm pie dish and cover with the puff pastry, make 2 slits in the centre of the pastry, crimp the edges and brush with the egg. Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry has risen, then reduce the temperature to 180°C and cook for a further 25 minutes.
Recipe, Food Styling and Photography by Karen McFarlane, foodlove.com.au
