Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Lamb Stew Recipe



This rich stew consists of tender lamb pieces in a thick vegetable and tomato sauce. Red wine could replace some of the chicken stock in this recipe, if desired.

To obtain the 700g of lamb used in this recipe, we purchased a 1.4kg leg of lamb, removed the bone, and trimmed the meat of excess fat. Any cut of lamb suitable for braising (e.g. shoulder, forequarter chops) could be used.

We like to serve the stew with creamy mashed potato, green beans and crusty bread.

Preparation time: about 40 minutes (excludes cooking time).

Serves 4-5.

We use a 20ml tablespoon and 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

38g (1/4 cup) plain flour
700g trimmed lamb, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons (40ml) oil
30g butter
1 medium (about 160g) onion, peeled and finely diced
100g finely diced carrot (about 1 medium)
100g finely diced parsnip (about 1 medium)
100g finely diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 1/2 tablespoons (36g) tomato paste
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 1/4 cups (562ml) chicken stock
3/4 cup (188ml) passata (tomato cooking sauce)
2 teaspoons (10ml) balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
Finely chopped parsley, to serve

Place the flour and lamb in a plastic freezer bag, hold the bag closed, and shake to coat the meat with the flour.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and half the butter (15g) in a large, heavy-based saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbling, add half the lamb and cook, turning the meat, until browned on all sides (about 2-3 minutes). Don't overcrowd the pan as this will prevent the meat from browning well (cook in more than two batches if necessary). Transfer browned lamb to a plate. You may need to reduce the heat if the pan becomes too hot. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown remaining lamb. Transfer second batch of lamb to the plate with first batch.

Over medium heat, add the remaining 15g butter, onion, carrot, parsnip and celery to the pan. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened (about six minutes). Scrape up any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the tomato paste and garlic to the cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.

Return the lamb and any juices to the pan. Add the stock, passata, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and pepper. Stir to combine.

Increase heat to high and bring mixture to the boil. Cover pan (have the steam vent on the lid open) and reduce heat so that the mixture is just simmering. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 1/2 hours, until the lamb is very tender. You will probably need to remove the lid for the last 30-40 minutes of the cooking time to reduce the sauce.

Remove bay leaf and add salt to taste. Serve stew hot, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

The stew can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to two days to allow the flavours to develop. Reheat in a saucepan or microwave. Suitable to freeze.
© www.exclusivelyfood.com.au


18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie and and Amanda,
This is a very easy recipe and tastes yummmmmmmm. It was great i could even hide veges in it by addign zuchinni and mushies. My 14 year old son loves lamb and the smell in the house would have him wanting to have dinner straight after school!! Thank you for another great recipe.

25/8/08 12:41 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie and Amanda,
Could this recipe be cooked in a slow cooker? Also would it be a good idea to cut the vegetable into larger cubes? Thanks

27/8/08 2:17 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Chrissie,

We think that this recipe would be suitable for a slow cooker. You may need to reduce the quantity of liquid slightly. You could chop the vegetables into larger pieces if desired.

28/8/08 5:02 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie and Amanda,
It was delicious and my son loved it. I didn't end up cooking for 2 and a 1/2 hrs, as the meat was tender and the liquid had reduced in 1 and 1/4. I used a very heavy based saucepan and had simmered for most the time.Do you think this might have made a difference?

31/8/08 9:25 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

The cooking time required will depend on how tender the meat is to start with, and how rapidly the stew is simmered. Did you have the stew covered?

1/9/08 6:45 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie and Amanda,
Yes i had the stew covered the whole time and didn't even bother trying to reduce the heat as i had the stove(gas)as low as i possibly could. The meat was tender and the thick gravy was really nice. I added a 1/4 cup of red wine as well without reducing the stock. I happy with the result but was surprised to see that it hadn't taken that long to cook.
Thanks.

5/9/08 5:23 pm  
Blogger Jem said...

Hi,

this sounds great and I can't wait to try it.

Could someone please tell me what exactly "Passata" is - I don't think I can get it here (Canada); and how can I substitute it if neccessary?

Thanks.

6/9/08 3:41 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

could you use lamb rump for this recipe?

11/9/08 7:20 am  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Yes, lamb rump could be used in this recipe.


Hi Jem,

Passata is made from sieved, crushed/pureed tomatoes. It is usually sold in glass bottles. You could substitute canned tomato puree or finely crushed canned tomatoes.

12/9/08 1:07 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made this recipe today and just tried a bowl. Simply delicious. I didn't have tomato paste or passata so I used tomato sauce and 1/4 cup red wine. It will definitely become a favourite. Thanks.

22/9/08 5:19 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made this recipe using left over lamb pieces (slow cooked whole lamb on the spit), it was beautiful & as the meat was previously cooked, it was lovely & tender once added back to the pot with the rest of the ingredients.

23/9/08 8:46 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

Love this recipe, it is delicious!! I used 2 cups chicken stock and 1/4 cup white wine, left out the parsnip and used a can of diced tomatoes as I couldn't find passata. Absolutely yummy and great with mashed potato, we even ate the left overs the next day tossed thru some pasta, I called it "penne with lamb ragu".

9/4/09 9:29 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just delicious. It went down a treat. Used the leftovers to make pasties ... yummy!

29/7/09 10:14 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yum. Just finished doing all the steps and its now simmering... making my home smell simply yum.

Hubby & kids will be pleased.

Thanks.

Great site by the way, hubby and daughter made Caramel Slice on the weekend for her school speech... how to make caramel chocolate slice.

23/9/09 4:17 pm  
Anonymous Catro said...

this lamb stew is YUMMO!

24/8/10 10:31 pm  
Anonymous Andrea said...

Great recipe. We liked it better with sour cream mixed in at the end. I also used tinned tomatoe and processed it smooth instead of the passata. Thanks heaps it will be a regular here from now on.

29/1/12 6:40 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

Made this tonight in a slow cooker and it was absolutely delicious. Prepared components on stove and then transferred to slow cooker for about 2 hours on high and then another 3 hours on low. My husband said that the lamb just melted in his mouth. Served on top of rice alongside steamed broccoli. Thanks for this super tasty and simple recipe.

23/7/13 7:45 pm  
Anonymous Vicki said...



Delicious, truly. Added red wine and more passata before reducing, incredible flavour.

17/10/13 3:18 am  

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