Candied Orange Peel Lamb Shanks, Khoresht-e-Portaghal

A Persian-Influenced Easter

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter in advance with a Persian-influenced lamb dish. This is based on Khoresht-e-Portaghal; a Persian meat-based stew made with oranges. 

Here I have braised lamb shanks in a saffron- and orange-infused broth. The tart acidity of the oranges cuts rather nicely into the unctuousness of the lamb shank. The candied orange peels wrap around your tongue in every bite, pairing beautifully with the crunch of fragrant jade-green pistachios. All served on a bed of perfectly fluffy Basmati rice.

And don’t forget to drizzle the saffron wine glaze on top, spoonful by spoonful.

Note: I have made two changes to a traditional Khorest-e-Portaghal: I have omitted carrots and added wine for braising.

(I researched braising tips for lamb shanks from The New Best Recipe by Cook’s Illustrated.)

Ingredients:
You will need three oranges, 1 orange will be peeled for the orange rind, use this, and another one, for juicing. Use the flesh of the third orange for garnishing this dish.

Ingredients for lamb shanks:
* 4 lamb shanks
* salt
* 3 tbsp corn (or other neutral) oil
* 1 cup red wine (optional) you can substitute water
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 1 stick cinnamon
* 2 tsp saffron threads; crushed and powdered with a pestle and mortar and divided into 2 batches
* juice of 2 oranges
* juice of 1 lime
* handful pistachios, unsalted
* 1 tsp cornflour, made into a slurry

Ingredients for candied orange peel:
* 1 orange
* 2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
* 1-2 tbsp sugar (add as much or as little as you like)

Preparation:
*Pre-heat your oven to 350F/180C

Step 1: Candied Orange Peel:
* Peel the rind of one orange, taking care not to get any of the bitter white flesh beneath. Julienne the orange peel, (see photo above, about 1.5-2 in length.) Add to boiling water for 3-5 minutes.
* Drain water from the orange peels, place back on a medium flame and add butter and sugar. Stir for a few minutes till the sugar and butter start to caramelise and the orange peels begin to droop and curl a bit. Please be careful not to do this on a high flame otherwise the peel and sugar will burn and turn bitter.
* Remove from the flame and pour onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Set aside and allow to cool.

Step 2: Lamb Shanks:
* Heat your oven to 350F/180C and turn your stove top burner to medium-high.
* Place a large dutch oven (I use this, it has a 7-qt capacity, by All Clad) on stove top and warm the corn oil.
* Season your lamb shanks with salt and place in a single layer (do not overlap shanks; you may have to do this in batches) in the dutch oven.
* Once the shanks have caramelised nicely on both sides, (about 5-7 minutes), remove and set aside. You’ll notice that a lot of fat would have rendered. Drain all the fat from the dutch oven.
* Place lamb shanks back into dutch oven and add wine, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, half of the saffron powder, the juice of 2 oranges and lime.
* Cover with lid and place in the oven.
* Oven times vary, so you will have to keep an eye on the shanks. In my kitchen, it takes 2.5 hours for the lamb shanks to be falling-off-the-bone-tender.
* Braise in the oven for 2 hours uncovered. At the 1.5 hour mark, check for tenderness gently with a fork. This will be a good indication of how much more time is required for doneness. Turn the shanks over once, very gently. If you feel too much liquid has evaporated, add some boiling water.
*After the 2 hour mark, braise for 30 minutes without the lid. By this time the meat should be almost falling off the bone. There should still be some shallow liquid in the dutch oven.
*Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Glaze:
Because lamb shanks render so much fat, you will have to remove the fat carefully.
You have two options here:

Option 1: Place remaining stock in fridge minimum 5 hours or preferably, overnight.
This will ensure that the fats rendered solidify.
Take out lamb shanks from fridge the next morning (or after at least 5 hours in the fridge) and carefully remove the solidified fat, without removing the gelatin-like lamb and chicken stock beneath.

Option 2: Transfer remaining stock into a narrow vessel. Allow to rest for half an hour, then skim the fat from the top.

Once the fat has been removed under Options 1 or 2, place stock in a saucepan, add the other half of the saffron powder and season with salt. Add some more orange or lime juice to your liking, season with salt if necessary. Add cornflour slurry till thick. Remove from flame.

Final Touches:
Carve some slivers of fresh orange. Place lamb shank in individual plates on top of Basmati rice (see recipe here), drizzle with the glaze/gravy, arrange strands of candied oranges on top and slivers of oranges on the side and sprinkle with pistachios.

Comments

  1. This looks mouthwateringly beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

  2. Clever girl! LLGxx

  3. This is too much!! Visually stunning, and I’m sure explosive to the tongue. Perfect Spring/Summer dinner in the backyard under orangy hue of the setting sun types.

  4. Beautiful photo Shayma and this dish is why I am so in love with Persian cuisine! I could eat this every other day and not tire of it.

  5. gourmand says:

    Call it “The Silence of the Lambs” or “Spicey’s Little Lamb”, your presentation looks amazingly tempting. I trust that a sprinkling of saffron threads would douse the strong lamb taste that some wish to skip. I can’t cook but my appetite for ordering lamb shanks has definitely been accentuated by this write-up and its superb photos.

  6. @lickedaspoon Thank you for the kind words and for the first-time visit.

    @LibertyLondonGirl Thanks, darling. x s

    @Remias Thanks so much- and thank you for the wonderful things you always say- hope we can cook and photograph together one day. x s

    @TasteofBeirut Thanks, J. Always so kind.

    @Gourmand You always have such interesting comments- I love it. You are right, saffron definitely adds a certain scent which cuts down the strong scent of lamb. Moreover, when one removes the fat, the strong taste which you refer to, becomes more subtle. Thanks, as always, dear gourmand.

  7. Lovely blog – but now it’s time for your restaurant!
    😉

  8. What a wonderful combination – something I’d never have imagined would marry. Can’t wait to try this.

  9. What a fab combo of tastes – it’s one of those ‘why didn’t think of that?’ moments – not that i ever would have, it just seems to be an obvious combo now you’ve written about it. Rich saffron, unctuous lamb and tart orange – lovely balance of flavour.

    Now I want to go and cook it… Great idea to remove the fat too – i often leave casseroles overnight to let flavours really infuse, but i’ve never really thought of removing the fat at that point – it really would be easy too.

    And like everyone else said – those are great pics – some of the best i’ve seen here.

  10. this is a great dish Shayma jan. khoreshte porteghal is so tasty and beautiful! stunning photos!x

  11. Shayma

    Your Murghi ka salan was a great inspiration. I already had a link to your post, maybe you missed it. I have also added one more link to your name 🙂

    This lamb looks so delightful.

  12. it looks very very very tasty…

  13. Lamb and orange isn’t a combination I’d have ever thought of, but it looks utterly mouth-watering.

  14. elizabeth says:

    Hi- its always a pleasure to read a blog like this.

  15. What a great idea.This looks absolutely delicious.

  16. Lovely! One of my favorite things about Persian food is how it combines the sweet and the savory. This recipe is a perfect example of that. Love your creative touches.

  17. I love your recipes – thank you for sharing!

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