Slow cooker lamb for spring

Put this light lamb casserole into the slow cooker before you go to work or let it cook overnight, popping it into the fridge in the morning and reheating it thoroughly when you arrive home. Very versatile, it is one of the dinners in our October 1 weekly meal planner, created in partnership with New World.

It serves two with enough for a second meal. Use the remaining meat to make pulled lamb tacos with your favourite Mexican fillings. Blitz the second half of the fennel and white bean mix into a soup, adding some stock or water to desired consistency. Serve with lots of chopped herbs and a dollop of minted yoghurt: see the beef kofta recipe from the planner. Or use the meat and fennel and bean mix together to toss through pasta.

Ingredients

900 g	Lamb leg roast, use up to 1 kg (Main)
1	Onion, diced
1 stick	Celery, diced
1	Carrot, peeled and diced
½ cup	Dry white wine
½ cup	Chicken stock
4	Anchovies
4	Garlic cloves, chopped
1 small	Orange, peel only (if following our meal planner, see link above, the orange segments can be used in a salad to serve with the duck legs)
1	Lemon, use the zest only
12	Kalamata olives, pitted
2 sprigs	Thyme
2 sprigs	Oregano
2 sprigs	Rosemary
1	Fennel bulb, sliced lengthwise in to 4 (if following our weekly meal planner, see link above, save a little for the salad to serve with our duck legs)
1 can	White beans, 400g, drained (Main)

Directions

1. Heat slow cooker to Sear or heat a frying pan. Season lamb with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Fry on all sides to brown. Remove to a plate.
2. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the cooker or frying pan and gently fry the onion, celery and carrot for five minutes until soft.
3. Add the lamb back into the cooker with the wine, chicken stock, anchovies, garlic, orange peel, lemon zest, olives, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Place the fennel around the lamb. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours until meat is falling from the bone. Add white beans into heat for 30 minutes before serving.
4. Pull meat from the bone to serve with fennel and white bean mix, removing orange peel and herb sprigs. Crusty bread to mop up juices.