Lamb & red wine stew
With two tasty topping options
2 hrs 30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
This slow-cooked stew is so simple to prepare and gives consistently good results. If you don’t want a straight-up casserole, or are looking for ways to use up leftovers, I’ve given you two topping variations – delicious fluffy dumplings, or creamy mash for a hearty shepherd’s pie. The choice is yours!
Ingredients
2 sticks of celery
2 onions
2 carrots
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
olive oil
500g stewing lamb
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
500ml red wine
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
DUMPLINGS (OPTIONAL)
250g self-raising flour
125g cold unsalted butter
SHEPHERD'S PIE TOPPING (OPTIONAL)
1kg potatoes
1 splash of milk
1 large knob of unsalted butter
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
olive oil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Trim the ends off the celery and roughly chop the sticks. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel the carrots, slice them lengthways and roughly chop.
- Put a casserole pan on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables, bay and rosemary into the pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes.
- Dice the lamb into roughly 2cm cubes (if it isn’t already), then add to the pan with the flour.
- Pour in the wine and tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season with a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Bring to the boil, put the lid on and cook in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender and delicious, removing the lid for the final 30 minutes and adding a splash of water if it looks too dry. (You could also simmer over a medium-low heat on your hob if you prefer.)
- Remove the bay leaf and rosemary stalks, season to taste, then serve. Or finish it off with one of these toppings…
TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS
- Preheat or turn the oven up to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
- Put the flour and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper into a bowl, then grate in the cold butter. Using your fingers, gently rub in the butter until it begins to resemble breadcrumbs. Then add a splash of cold water to help bind it into a dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces and gently roll each into a round dumpling. The dumplings will suck up quite a bit of moisture, so if your stew looks dry, add a cup of boiling water and give it a good stir.
- Place the dumplings on top of your stew and press down lightly, so they’re half submerged. Cook in the oven, or on the hob over a medium heat, with the lid on for 30 minutes.
TO MAKE SHEPHERD'S PIE
- Preheat or turn the oven up to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Transfer your cooked stew to a large baking dish.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them in half into even-sized pieces, and put them into a pan of salted, boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes or until tender, then drain, steam dry and return them to the pan.
- Add the milk, butter and a pinch of salt and pepper, then mash until smooth and creamy, adding another splash of milk if necessary.
- Roughly top the stew with the mashed potato (don’t worry about it being smooth and even), pick over a few rosemary leaves and lightly push them into the potato.
- Drizzle with some olive oil, lightly coating the rosemary leaves, then cook in the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
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