This stew is made with lamb, carrots, potatoes, green beans and turnips. We first made this stew in Paris when our youngest son Brian was on the track team. We had three young men from the Netherlands team staying with us for a track meet. I tripled this recipe thinking that there would be enough for Peter and I to have dinner after the four young runners were full. When Peter came home from work, he was barely able to scrape the bottom of the pan with the end of a baguette. Needless to say, we went out for Thai food……
Serves: 6 |
Prep Time: 30 minutes |
Cook Time: 2 hours |
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lamb shoulder, well trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces, browned in batches
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1 large bouquet garni (see recipe below)
3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1 ½ pounds small potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
12 baby carrots, trimmed and scrubbed or 6 medium carrots cut into coins or 2-inch pieces
4 ounces green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 medium turnips, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2-4 ounces mange-tout, aka snow peas or sugar snap peas, discard tops (optional)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add enough lamb to fit easily in one layer (do not overcrowd the pan or the meat will not brown properly). Cook, turning until all sides are well browned. Add more olive oil if needed. Place browned lamb on a plate and set aside until all of the lamb is browned.
- Put all of the browned lamb back into the pot and add 4 tablespoons of water. Boil for about 1 minute, stirring and scraping the pot. This will loosen the bits left from browning the lamb.
- Sprinkle the flour over the browned meat and stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the flour is browned. Stir in the stock, the bouquet garni, garlic, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface with a spoon. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, cover and stir occasionally for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender. (At this point you can stop, cover and refrigerate overnight).
- If you DO stop and chill the lamb overnight, you need to take it out of the refrigerator about 1 ½ hours before serving. Remove the fat from the surface, if there is any. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- In a medium pot, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes, until they are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl.
- Add the carrots to the potato water. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, depending on size, until just tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the same bowl as the potatoes.
- Add the green beans to the same water, and boil for 2-3 minutes, until just tender, yet crisp. Do not overcook! Using a slotted spoon, transfer green beans to the bowl with the potatoes and carrots.
- In a pot with a cover, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the turnips and 4 tablespoons of water and cook covered for about 5-10 minutes, depending on size of turnips. Uncover the pan, stir in the sugar and the thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the turnips are shiny and caramelized. Transfer to the bowl of vegetables. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the pan to deglaze and boil for 1 minute, scraping the base of the pan. Add this liquid to the pot with the lamb.
- Remove the bouquet garni and heat the lamb and gravy until hot, add the bowl of vegetables to the lamb and stir gently to distribute. Stir in the snow peas and cook for about 5 minutes, until they turn a bright green. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and use the rest of the parsley as a garnish.
SERVING: Serve with green salad and crusty bread or baguette.
BOUQUET GARNI:
I use a tea strainer if I do not have cheesecloth on-hand.
4 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh parsley sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 dried bay leaf
6 whole peppercorns
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