Ham Hocks
4 Ham Hocks
1 onion, roughly diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
4 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
3 sprigs rosemary

White Bean and Vegetable Stew
Oil for sautéing
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 eggplant, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 tin white beans, cooked
½ cup frozen green peas
1 litre chicken or veggie stock
1 tblsp sage
salt & pepper to taste

To cook hocks, sauté vegetables and place in large baking dish or casserole along with herbs. Put hocks on top and cover completely with water. Cover with foil or lid and braise in a moderate oven (175C) for about 1½ hrs stirring occasionally, or until hocks feel tender when pierced. Remove hocks and strain the liquid. Reserve the juice but discard the herbs. Return hocks to baking dish.

To make stew, heat oil and sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery for about 5 mins over a gentle heat. Add eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and sauté for a further five minutes. Added tinned tomatoes, drained white beans and peas, then pour in stock. Season with sage, salt & pepper, then pour vegetable stew over cooked hocks. Cover and return to oven until all vegetables are tender (about 15 mins at 180C)

Serve hocks on vegetable stew accompanied by crusty bread and/or scalloped potatoes.

download printable version
(PDF format)

Lamb shanks
8 Lamb shanks
(ask your butcher to neaten shanks by trimming or "Frenching" each end)
Flour mixed with 1 tsp each of cumin, paprika, ground coriander and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Oil for sealing shanks
1 brown onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
4 tblsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tblsp ginger, chopped
1.5 litres of stock (vege. or beef)
2 tblsp chopped sage
1 zucchini, diced
1 eggplant, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 tomatoes, diced
Black pepper to taste

Carrot mash
Allow one large or two medium carrots per person, peeled.
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper & salt to taste

Dust shanks with spiced flour and seal in oil until they begin to brown all over then place in a large casserole dish or roasting pan. Saute onion, carrot and celery until they begin to soften. Add tomato paste, garlic and ginger. Continue to saute for about two minutes before adding stock and sage. Pour over shanks. Cover with lid or foil and cook in a 140-160C oven for about two hours or until the meat starts to come away from the bone. Check liquid level during cooking process, adding more when necessary.

When shanks are cooked, pour liquid into a saucepan and simmer gently, skimming any fat from the top, until it begins to reduce down to a "sauce" consistency. Saute the zucchini and eggplant. Add to sauce, along with chickpeas and tomato.

Make a mash by roughly chopping and boiling the carrots until soft. Blend or process, adding seasoning and olive oil. Season shanks to taste and simmer for about five minutes before serving with crusty bread and mash.

download printable version
(PDF format)

1kg Nolan's Diced Veal
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, studded with 3 cloves
2 medium carrots, sliced
1½ cups Knorr vegetable stock
1 Bouquet Garni
1 teaspoon salt
white pepper to taste

12 small onions (parboiled)
250gr button mushrooms
(sauted in butter and lemon juice)
2 tablespoons flour
2 egg yokes
3 tablespoons cream
pinch of nutmeg
chopped parsley
croutons

Fry veal quickly in 1 tablespoon of butter without browning.Add onion with cloves, carrots, stock, salt, pepper and bouquet garni. Cover and bring to the boil, skim then simmer, covered for 45 minutes. Remove veal pieces and carrots. Strain liquid and reserve. Clean saucepan then melt remaining butter and mix in flour. Pour in stock, stirring until mixture thickens. Add veal, carrots, whole onions and mushrooms caps. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes, or until veal is tender then remove from heat. Mix egg yokes, cream and nutmeg and stir into veal mixture. Reheat 'Blanquette' gently but DO NOT bring to the boil again. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and garnish with croutons.

download printable version
(PDF format)

1 kg Veal Shank Wheels
90gr Butter
2 Medium Carrots
2 Large Onions
3 Sticks Celery
3 Cloves Garlic
Flour
Salt & Pepper
2 tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 x 400gr Cans Whole Tomatoes
½ cup Dry Red Wine
430gr Beef Consomme
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Thyme
1 Bay leaf
2.5cm Strip of Lemon Rind
1 tsp Grated Lemon Rind
3 tbls Chopped Parsley

1. Heat 30gr butter in pan. Add peeled and chopped carrots, peeled and finely chopped onions, finely chopped celery and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Cook gently until onions are golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer to a large ovenproof dish.
2. Coat the veal pieces with flour seasoned with salt & pepper. Heat the remaining butter & oil in a large frying pan, add veal & brown well on all sides. Carefully pack veal shanks on top of the vegetables in the ovenproof dish.
3. Drain away all fat from frypan in which veal was browned. Add wine, beef consomme, tomatoes (mashed with a fork) with liquid, basil, thyme, bay leaf & strip of lemon rind. Bring to boil & season with salt & pepper.
4. Pour sauce over veal. Cover casserole, bake in a moderate oven for 1½ hours or until to veal is very tender, stirring occasionally. To serve sprinkle over the "Gremolata" which is the name of the combined remaining crushed garlic, chopped parsley & grated lemon rind.

download printable version
(PDF format)