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Halal-conscious recipe

Sweet spiced lamb shanks with quince

Jane Hornby's lamb shanks with quince, a cross between a Persian stew and a Moroccan tagine, with Halal lamb: browned shanks braised with onion, lemon, warm spices, honey, quince and Halal or vegetable stock.

  • Cuisine Persian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 shanks
  • Time 3h 10m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Green beans, carrots and potatoes layered in a metal tagine base, ready to cook
Photograph from our ingredient library: vegetables layered in a tagine before cooking, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: Ridouan Red · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

The stew is 4 lamb shanks, which are Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, braised in 400 ml of lamb or beef stock, which is a meat product.

Lamb shanks are browned dark golden, then braised slowly with onions softened in butter, garlic, strips of lemon zest, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, cumin and saffron, tomato purée, honey and stock, with quartered quinces tucked around the meat. The source describes it as a cross between a Persian stew and a Moroccan tagine, with mellow spices. Two things need a Halal source: the lamb, and the stock, for which a Halal-certified lamb or beef stock or a vegetable stock works (see stock cubes).

It follows Jane Hornby's sweet spiced lamb shanks with quince for BBC Good Food, which serves four. The sauce stays fairly thin unless you boil it down at the end, as the source suggests.

Serve with rice, couscous or flatbreads, as the source suggests.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Lamb shanks Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and lamb without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the shanks from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
  • Lamb or beef stock Bought meat stock is a meat product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified lamb or beef stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.

Safe substitutes

  • Lamb shanks of unknown slaughter → 4 Halal lamb shanks
  • 400 ml lamb or beef stock → 400 ml Halal-certified lamb or beef stock, or vegetable stock

Allergens

milk (butter)

Ingredients

Shanks

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 Halal lamb shanks
  • large knob butter
  • 2 large onions, halved then cut into wedges
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 unwaxed lemon, 4 strips of zest plus the juice
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • good pinch saffron strands (optional)
  • 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp clear honey
  • 400 ml Halal-certified lamb or beef stock, or vegetable stock
  • 2 quinces, peeled, quartered and cored

Method

  1. Brown the shanks. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Season the shanks and brown them in the oil for 10 minutes, or until dark golden all over.
  2. Soften the onions. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a casserole or large pan and soften the onions for 10 minutes over a medium heat until they are turning golden, then add the garlic. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
  3. Braise. Add the lemon zest strips and spices to the onions and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato purée, honey, stock and half the lemon juice. Sit the shanks in the pan and poke the quince quarters in and around them; it may be a tight fit, but the meat shrinks as it cooks. Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in the oven for 2 hours.
  4. Finish. Uncover and cook for 30 minutes more. Spoon away any excess fat. For a thicker sauce, lift the lamb and quinces onto a serving plate and boil the juices until thickened. Season, add the rest of the lemon juice and serve with the lamb.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Sweet spiced lamb shanks with quince' by Jane Hornby, which describes it as a cross between a Persian stew and a Moroccan tagine (serves 4: 4 seasoned lamb shanks browned in 1 tbsp olive oil for 10 minutes until dark golden; meanwhile 2 large onions in wedges softened 10 minutes in a large knob of butter in a casserole, then 4 crushed garlic cloves; oven at 160C/140C fan/gas 3; 4 strips of zest from an unwaxed lemon, 2 tsp each ground cinnamon and coriander, 1 tsp each ground ginger and cumin and a good pinch of saffron (optional) cooked 1 minute; 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée, 1 tbsp honey, 400 ml lamb or beef stock and half the lemon juice stirred in; the shanks sat in the pan with 2 peeled, quartered and cored quinces poked around them; brought to a simmer, covered and braised 2 hours, then uncovered 30 minutes more; excess fat spooned away; the juices boiled to thicken if you like, seasoned and finished with the rest of the lemon juice). We specified Halal lamb shanks and a Halal-certified or vegetable stock; nothing else needed changing. The cuisine is filed as Persian, the first of the two the source names. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Sweet spiced lamb shanks with quince — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Jane Hornby, described as a cross between a Persian stew and a Moroccan tagine. Serves 4, prep 10 minutes, cook 3 hours: shanks browned 10 minutes; onions softened in butter with garlic; lemon zest, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, cumin and saffron, then tomato purée, honey, stock and lemon juice; braised with quince 2 hours covered and 30 minutes uncovered at 160C. We specified Halal lamb and stock.

  2. Lamb analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.

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