Easy Farmhouse Lamb Stew With Vegetables

Submitted by Zurie

"So basic, so simple, so tummy-warming on a cold night! The meat does need long, slow cooking, but you don't have to stand over it. This is the time-honored way of making a typical stew. I'm sure it's ideal for a crockpot, but not having one, I can't give directions for use! This is ideal for using up those bits of fresh veggies lurking in your fridge waiting to go bad! It can be made a day ahead, cooled and refrigerated, and warmed up again, as flavour will improve. Can also be made early in the day, pulled aside, and heated up again for dinner that night. I use lamb by preference, but naturally beef can be used as well."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 - 1 1⁄2 lbs lamb, stewing pieces (neck or shank or other meaty bits)
• 2 lbs vegetables, mixed (onion must be used, and add chopped bell peppers, zucchini, sweet potato, carrots and any bits you w)
• 5 tablespoons flour
• oil (for frying)
• 3 teaspoons seasoning salt (BBQ, etc.)
• 14 ounces tomatoes (1 tin, with juice)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped and crushed
• 1 hot pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1⁄2 cup dry red wine

directions

1. The vegetables you intend to use should be peeled and cut into chunks or rounds, and be ready. I have not included this in the prep. time!
2. Heat a large pot, and add a generous film of oil. Heat the oil well.
3. In the meantime, put the flour in a small bowl and dip each piece of meat in the flour. Don't worry if some have barely anything on them -- just see that the largest pieces are lightly coated.
4. Add to the hot oil. Do it in two batches. When one batch has sizzled on both sides, push them to the side of the pot with a long-handled fork, and then add the rest of the meat. It is NOT vital that they all brown.
5. Add the seasoning salt to the meat, and stir. Heat should be quite high at this stage.
6. Now add all the vegetables, and stir the lot.
7. Cut open the tin of tomatoes, and add, as well as the 1/2 teaspoon sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and hot pepper or sauce. Stir through with a wooden spoon or long-handled fork.
8. The heat is still high at this stage. Add the red wine. (You could sub with beef broth, but red wine is really preferable).
9. As soon as the stew is bubbling, turn heat to lowest setting and put on lid. Let stew simmer for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour.
10. Then taste the sauce: it is almost sure to need more salt or seasoning. You could add fresh herbs, or a tasty seasoning, as you like.
11. If the veggies have rendered a lot of liquid, take off the lid and cook until sauce has reduced.
12. If the opposite, and the sauce is not all that much, keep the lid on.
13. Stew until the meat is tender -- all-together about 1 1/4 - 2 hours -- all depending on the meat you use.
14. In the meantime, prepare either potatoes, rice or polenta to your taste.
15. And do make a green salad. And open a bottle of red wine while you have a slug of the open bottle you used in the stew -- .

Reviews

[Chef1MOM-Connie]

Loved this stew recipe! Perfect for the below 0 temps we were having. Tasted even better then next day if you can believe it. The broth is aromatic and rich. Used the onions, green peppers, zucchini, 2 potatoes, garlic, green beans, and a bit of summer corn (leftover). Loved it all. Will make this often. Served with Zurie's Recipe #234322 Made In Memory of Zurie's husband, Gideon. God Bless.

 

[Mia in Germany]

Utterly yummy!! Really easy to make, and true comfort food on a rainy gray day. I used sweet potatoes, onions and a mix of romanesco, green beans and yellow and orange carrots. The measurements are just absolutely perfect, I didn't change a thing (except using gluten free flour). Thanks for sharing!<br/>Made for the Cook-a-thon in Memory of Gideon.

 

[Debbwl]

Wonderful!!! So much like the stew I grew up eating and yet so different, one of the many but very tasty differences was the use of sweet potatoes instead of white potato. The use of red wine is something my mother always did when making stew and I think is a major must when making full bodied stew. Think I am going to try this with beef also. Thanks for the tasty post.

 

[alicejahn]

Great recipe! My husband nearly expired with happiness, he liked it so much. I seasoned with rosemary and Italian parsley which was perfect. Only added a little salt, the Worcester sauce adds a lot of salt by itself.

 

[duonyte]

A terrific recipe - this is a template that you can adapt to make use of whatever you have around. I had about 2 1/4 lbs of bone-in lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions. Used tomatoes from my garden instead of tinned. Added thyme, a bay leaf, only about 1 tsp of salt. Had fresh baked pide to sop up the yummy gravy. I am almost looking forward to going to work tomorrow to make everyone jealous about my lunch!