Traditional And Updated Irish Lamb Stew!

Ingredients:
1 quart lamb stock (or combination of Chicken, Lamb or Vegetable stock)
1 1/2 lb. Lamb shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup uncooked barley
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup flour for coating lamb
2 Tbsp. Oil for Browning lamb (or use 1 Tbsp. Fat skimmed off the top of your stock and 1 Tbsp. Oil)
Sprig of sage
A few stems of fresh thyme
Salt/pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish

I happened to have a huge bowl of lamb stock all made. Look how gelatinous it is!

Preparation:
Place lamb chunks I’m a large plastic zip-lock bag. Very liberally salt/pepper–at least a tsp. Salt and 1/2 tsp. Pepper. Add flour and shake to coat.

In a large soup pot, heat oil (or fat) until bubbling. Drop in lamb and gently stir to brown all sides–about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add 1 quart stock and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Reduce to simmer and add carrots, parsnip and celery. Add sage and thyme. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup barley, cover and simmer another 30 minutes.

The stew will thicken as it cooks.  Check to make sure veg is tender. Barley should be tender, but still have a little chewiness. Also check tenderness of lamb. Shoulder can be a little tougb, but has wonderful flavor.  Remove stew from heat and add the cup of peas. I like to make stew the day before serving to really bring flavors together, but you can also eat it immediately!
NEXT, AN UPDATED CONTEMPORARY VERSION…

I made a WHITE BEAN, CARAMELIZED ONION AND BLACK PUDDING dish with some of the cannellini beans. This would also be excellent with grilled and sliced Italian sausage, if you don’t have blood pudding in the fridge! 😊

I also cooked 1 cup of the cannellini’s until very tender, then mashed with a fork, added 1 clove minced garlic, lots of freshly ground black pepper, fresh thyme, a dash of smoked paprika, squeeze of fresh lemon juice and drizzle of olive oil. Place into a small serving bowl, top with a little more olive oil, lemon zest and chunky sea salt (such as Maldon) and serve with crackers, small toasted breads or veg. Delicious bean dip!

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY!

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Me and my hubby in Copenhagen enjoying a canal cruise. The Regal Princess showed us a fantastic 11-day adventure throughout the beautiful Baltic!