Irish Lamb Stew

1 HOUR, 45 MINUTES | MODERATELY EASY | SERVES 8
nutrition per serving:
350 calories, 36g protein, 35g Carbs, 13g fat, 7g sugar

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds of lamb meat
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (I typically use Cabernet Sauvignon but use what you like or what you have on hand)
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme or 4 fresh sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 1 tbsp of dried parsley – whatever you have on hand)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp Allspice
• 1 cup of frozen sweet peas

directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Season meat with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
3. Working in batches (if not, the meat won’t cook evenly), add meat to the stockpot and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes; remove meat from pot and set aside.
4. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Whisk in flour and tomato paste until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
7. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot.
8. Stir in beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and meat, Worcestershire sauce and allspice.
9. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until beef is very tender, about 30 minutes.
10. Stir in sweet potato; simmer until potatoes are just tender and stew has thickened, about 30 minutes.
11. Check tenderness of carrots and potatoes, making sure they are soft enough.
12. Add sweet peas. And if you want to add more that a cup, do it. Peas add a sweetness and a nice bite that cant be matched.
13. Remove bay leaves (and fresh thyme sprigs if you used fresh thyme).
14. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
15. Serve immediately.

notes

My Dad would always butter a slice of bread, put it at the bottom of a bowl, THEN pour a generous helping of the stew over the bread. You really need to try this! The bread gets soft, the butter adds a creaminess to your spoonfuls, and it all works. Try this the next time you scoop up some stew (this stew or your beef stew) – I promise it’ll be a nice addition!