A Moroccan dish and a French drop

A Moroccan dish and a French drop

Tasting

Redmond Cabot

Welcome to this new column, which will showcase new recipes fortnightly. My job is to ‘match’ wines with these delicious foods. Wine is a perfect complement to food. You only have to think of sitting down to enjoy a big juicy steak with your favourite Australian Shiraz red or fresh plaice with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

Generally, when matching wines with food, the wine should balance and complement the food. Simply speaking, if you are eating a big gutsy meal, then a big gutsy wine will complement it. If you are enjoying a light and delicate meal, then perhaps a lighter and more delicate wine would be more suited.

This is only a general rule of course, and being human we are allowed exceptions to the rule. Many believe that you should have white wine with fish and poultry and red with red meat. However, if you like red with your fish and white with lamb, that’s ok too!

Looking at this recipe for Moroccan Lamb, I am thinking fairly strong and spicy flavours … And yes, I look at the recipe and there is Paprika pepper, garlic, onions, black pepper, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric – strong stuff indeed! A softer lamb dish would work well with a smooth vanilla Spanish Rioja, but this dish calls for more ammunition.

Let’s be traditional and go for a red wine. We want a fairly high fruit content with perhaps hints of spiciness and a ‘bite’ to counter the strong flavours of this North African dish.

Rhone wines are known for their fruitiness and their spiciness. The grapes blended in Rhone wines, Syrah and Grenache, have a high fruit content and are known for their ‘juiciness’. The Rhone is the home of the famous Chateauneuf Du Pape and Gigondas wines; they have the tradition of making great higher-end wines.

The region also produces some wines that offer good value for the customer, however. A superb wine that fits this bill is Domaine de Perilliere Côtes du Rhône, which sells for an very reasonable €15.99. It has earthy plum notes and will provide a super backdrop to your Moroccan lamb shanks. You should be able to taste a good fruit content, as well as a little bit of jazz in the winemaking that will perfectly complement this dish.

Oh, and one final tip: All Rhone wines  improve with opening, so open it as you start to cook. Now there’s an incentive to get into the kitchen if ever there was one!

Red Cabot and his wife, Sandra, live in Lanmore, Westport. He has been involved in food and wine for over ten years, and is now proprietor of Cabot’s Source. His interest is in local, organic, seasonal foods. He learnt all he knows about food from his mum, Penny, who’s war-generation ‘waste not, want not’ attitude honed his appreciation of using whatever fresh food is to hand. Red’s motto: ‘Keep it clean, fresh and natural!’

Food

Moroccan-style braised lamb shanks

Serves 4

Time: 2¾ hours

1 tblsp paprika

1 teasp each ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

4 lamb shanks, well trimmed

2 tblsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2½ cm piece peeled fresh root ginger, chopped

450 ml chicken or lamb stock

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

1 tblsp clear honey

Squeeze of lemon juice

Serve with a bowl of couscous

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 160°C (325°F). Heat a large frying pan. Mix together the paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and one teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl. Add the lamb shanks and, using your hands, rub in the spices. Add a little of the olive oil to the heated pan and quickly brown off two of the spiced lamb shanks. Transfer to a casserole dish with a lid, and repeat with the remaining lamb shanks.

Meanwhile, place the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor or mini blender and pulse until finely minced. Add another tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, then add the onion mixture and sauté for three to four minutes until well softened and coloured from the spices left in the bottom of the frying pan.

Pour a little of the stock into the pan, stirring to combine and then tip over the lamb shanks. Add the remaining stock with the tomatoes and honey, stirring gently until evenly combined. Cover with the lid and cook for two to two-and-a-half hours, until the lamb shanks are meltingly tender and the meat is ready to fall off the bone. Season to taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.

Arrange the lamb shanks in wide-rimmed bowls with the couscous to serve.

> For a more fragrant and pungent dish, the lamb can be covered in cling-film and marinated in the fridge for up to 24 hours to allow the spices to penetrate the meat.

The accompanying couscous can be jazzed up with pistachio nuts and dried fruits, such as sultanas and raisins and a little chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.