Fragrant lamb and prune crockpot

Tender lamb flavoured with juniper berries and rosemary, slow cooked with winter vegtables and prunes. Prepare the ingredients ahead and freeze, so you can just pop them in the crockpot or slow cooker when you’re in a rush. So easy!

Serves: 6

Time to make: 7 hrs 45 mins

Hands-on time: 45 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

450g lean lamb leg steaks, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6cm piece fresh ginger, grated
coarsely ground black pepper, to season
2 tablespoons olive oil
6-7 sprigs rosemary, leaves only
4 teaspoons juniper berries, roughly crushed
1 cup prunes
3 parsnips, peeled, diced
3 carrots, peeled, diced or grated
1 orange kumarasweet-potatoX, diced
1 cup pearl barley
1½ cups reduced-salt vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
boiling water

To serve
4 cups mashed potato
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

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1 In a freezer bag, place lamb, garlic, ginger, pepper and half of the oil, half of the rosemary and half of the juniper berries.

2 In a second freezer bag, place prunes, veges, barley and remaining rosemary and oil.

3 In a third small freezer bag, place stock, vinegar and remaining juniper berries.

4 Seal each bag, shake to combine ingredients, flatten to remove air, and clearly label. Place flat in the freezer together.

5 Two hours before cooking, remove all bags from freezer. Preheat slow cooker for 5 minutes on low. Empty in contents of the freezer bags – meat first, then veges then sauce. Add salt and 2 cups boiling water. Use a large spoon to break up ingredients a little.

6 Cover and cook for 7-8 hours. Adjust seasoning. Serve with mashed potato and parsley.

Variations

Make it gluten free: Use brown rice instead of barley and check stock is gluten free.

HFG tip

Handy hints for slow-cooker freezer bags

Make sure you use proper freezer bags.

Remove all air from the bags once they are filled.
Label each bag clearly including the date of freezing.
Freeze recipe bags in a group together.
Keep bags as flat as possible when freezing.
Remove bags from the freezer at least two hours before placing in the slow cooker. Or remove the bags from the freezer the night before, store in the fridge and reduce the amount of boiling water added to them by half.
Preheat slow cooker before adding the bag contents.
Always add meat portion to the cooker first.
Always add liquid bag last.
Add boiling water to the cooker as the last ingredient when stated in a recipe.

NOTE: If you have a nut allergy and are using packaged goods in recipes, please check the allergen warning on the packet regarding nuts.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 509 cal

Kilojoules 2130 kJ

Protein 25 g

Total fat 10 g

Saturated fat 2 g

Carbohydrates 70 g

Sugar 23 g

Dietary fibre 17 g

Sodium 420 mg

Calcium 110 mg

Iron 5.2 mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.