Irish stew
About this recipe: Traditional recipes for Irish stew use a tough, fatty cut of lamb and only potatoes, onions and herbs. This up-to-date version with lamb leg steaks is leaner, and more colourful with the addition of carrots, but still retains its comforting, homely flavour.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 4 boneless lean lamb leg steaks, about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) in total, trimmed of fat and each steak cut into 4 pieces
- 1 kg (2¼ lb) floury potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) carrots, thickly sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
- 450 ml (15 fl oz) hot lamb or vegetable stock
- salt and pepper
- chopped fresh thyme and parsley to garnish
Method
Prep:20min ›
Cook:2hr20min ›
Ready in:2hr40min
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F, gas mark 3). In a large casserole, make layers of the lamb, potatoes, onion and carrots, sprinkling each layer with parsley, thyme, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a layer of potatoes, then pour over the stock.
- Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven to cook for about 2 hours or until both the meat and vegetables feel tender when tested with a skewer.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Remove the casserole lid and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the potatoes on top are golden brown and crisp. Serve hot, sprinkled with more thyme and parsley.
Some more ideas
Lamb best end of neck cutlets are traditional in Irish stew and you can use 8 of them if you like, but make sure they are well trimmed of fat before layering them in the casserole. * If you want the cooking liquid to be slightly thickened, sprinkle 1 tbsp pearl barley between the first few layers along with the herbs. * Use turnips instead of carrots. * Add 125 g (4 1/2 oz) whole small button mushrooms, layering them in the casserole with the onion and carrots. * For a real taste of Ireland, replace half of the stock with Guinness.
Plus points
Carrots are not traditional in Irish stew, but they are well worth including, both for their colour and flavour and from a nutritional point of view.
Similar recipes
Reviews (10)
Something else. Cooked it in the slow cooker for 7hrs on low - the meat was so tender! Stirred in a spoonful of cornflour in the last 30 mins to thicken the sauce. - 23 Nov 2009
I went to 4 stores and none of them had *any* lamb! So, I cut my losses and got some nice, lean beef. While the flavors were simple, it was still a very good stew. It went great with some homemade bread and a Guinness! Next time I make this, I *will* find some nice lamb! - 11 Mar 2012
Very good, the cooking method left the lamb so tender! I suspected this would be a bit bland from the ingredients and reviews so I did use much more of the fresh herbs, almost a handful of each. I also added some crushed rosemary and garlic. Perfectly seasoned and delicious! - 16 Mar 2012
Write a review
