Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
With Saint Patrick's Day being on Sunday I thought it would be fun to make a smaller batch of Irish Stew for the smaller family. This recipe will serve 3, or 2 people generously. Or two people on the day and one with the leftovers the day after.
Its a simple and yet attractive stew, using simple methods and simple ingredients, because lets face it . . . the Irish were basically a very poor people, a humble people, without artifice, and many did not have stoves or ovens, but cooked over an open fire on the hearth.
This is a recipe I adapted from one I found in this book. It is originally meant to feed four people generously. This is a great book by the way. I have had it for a few years now and every recipe tried has been a real winner. Its from the Love Food people.
All you need for it is some stewing lamb . . . you could use neck fillets if you wanted to, I just used cubed stewing lamb I got at the shops. British or Welsh lamb is not quite in season yet, so suspect this was NZ lamb.
There is no browning or faffing about with the meat, which also lessens the fat calories. You just season and dust the cubed lamb with flour and lay it in the bottom of a heavy casserole dish. (I used my medium sized Le Creuset.)
Once the lamb is in the bottom, you layer on diced onion and sliced carrots. I like to lightly season each layer.
Once you have those layered in, you cover the top with wedges of potato. I used two medium/large potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges. I got kind of fanciful when I layered them on top. I thought it looked quite pretty.
Finally you just pour over a mix of hot stock and dried thyme. The recipe called for beef stock. If I do it again, I will use chicken stock. I thought some of the integrity of the lamb was lost by using beef, but that may just be me.
After that you just cover it up tightly and let the oven do the work. Go read a book, do some knitting, housework, whatever . . .
The recipe didn't call for it, but about 15 minutes before it was done, I took it out of the oven and brushed the potatoes with some butter, then popped it back into the oven at a higher temperature. It browned the potatoes up a bit, which I thought was a nice touch.
This was a really lovely stew. I am thinking if you didn't have lamb, you could do beef or pork in the same way, probably even chicken would be good done this way.
This is something I have done with stew since I was a child. I like to mash the potatoes up a bit and dab some butter on them. (Don't judge me.) Its really good that way. I also love sweet pickles with stew, but those don't exist over here, so I just think about how good they used to be and settle for what I have.
Yield: 3
Small Batch Irish Stew
prep time: 15 minscook time: 2 hour and 30 minstotal time: 2 hours and 45 mins
A small batch Irish Stew for the smaller family. Simple and delicious. This will give you a hearty meal on the day.
ingredients:
- 2 TBS plain flour
- 1 pound stewing lamb
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 largish potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- salt and black pepper
- 600ml hot beef stock (2 1/2 cups)
- small knob of butter
- parsley flakes to garnish
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.
- Season the meat and roll it in the flour, shaking off any excess. Lay it in a single layer in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with the chopped onion, then the sliced carrot, and finally the potato wedges. Season each layer lightly as you go. Whisk together the stock and thyme. Pour into the casserole dish. Cover tightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours. About 15 minutes before it is done, remove the cover and brush the top of the potatoes with the knob of butter and return to the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Let the potatoes brown a bit. Sprinkle some parsley flakes on top and serve.
calories
302.37
302.37
fat (grams)
10.34
10.34
sat. fat (grams)
5.09
5.09
carbs (grams)
38.40
38.40
net carbs
33.63
33.63
protein (grams)
15.31
15.31
sugar (grams)
5.56
5.56
Created using The Recipes Generator
Todd had the leftovers today for his dinner and he said it tasted even better than it had the other day when I made it. That is often the way with stews. They seem to taste better upon "ripening" overnight. Yum! I think the Irish would approve!
*Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Tender, sticky delicious chicken. You can use only breasts or a combination of breasts and thighs. Delicious.
4 to 6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken
1 bottle barbeque sauce (I used the Jack Daniels one)
1 ounces white vinegar (1/4 cup)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 ounces soft light brown sugar (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 tp 1 tsp garlic powder
Place your chicken pieces into the slow cooker. Stir together the barbeque sauce, vinegar, pepper flakes, brown sugar and garlic powder. Pour this over top of the chicken and give it a stir. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
The next recipe I tested on it was for a Crock Pot Beef Dip Sandwich. I love Beef Dip Sandwiches. It was always one of my favourite things to order when I lived in Canada and we would go out for supper. I remember having a particularly delicious one in Winnipeg Manitoba back in 1977 whilst we were waiting to board a train for Calgary. (You know something is good when 30+ years later you are still thinking about it!)
This recipe is one I found online (forgive me as I can't remember where right now). The meat turned out deliciously tender and we both enjoyed this very much. I will make again. It was almost as good as that one back in 1977, and I loved that I could brown the roast a bit first by using that function in the Flavour Savour.
*French Dip Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe
Easy to make and oh so delicious with meltingly tender beef tucked into a soft roll, topped with cheese and then served with a beef broth for dipping.
1 medium brown skinned onion, peeled and thinly sliced
6 fluid ounces beef broth/stock (3/4 cup)
2 fluid ounces dark soy sauce (1/4 cup)
4 fluid ounces water (1/2 cup)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS grainy mustard
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 pounds beef roast for braising (I used a rolled brisket)
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
6 to 8 soft sandwich rolls
6 to 8 slices of provolone cheese, or an equivalent
amount of grated emmenthal cheese
one pint of beef broth (about 2 1/4 cups)
Rub the beef all over with some salt and pepper. Place the onion slices in the bottom of the crock pot. Stir together the beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, mustard, garlic and water. Put the beef into the crock pot on top of the onions. Pour the broth mixture over top. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours until meltingly tender.
To serve, warm the rolls and cut open. Shred the cooked beef and pile onto the warmed rolls, top with some of the onion and a bit of the juice from the pan, along with a slice of cheese. Close over, cut in half diagonally and serve along with a small bowl of beef broth for each person to dip their sandwich in.
I then decided to test out it's normal cookery function and did a tasty stew in it. I was able to brown my meat and vegetables perfectly and then proceed as per the recipe. At the end we were rewarded with a deliciously tasty Irish Lamb and Barley Stew.
As you can see the lamb was beautifully browned. Stews gain a lot of their flavour from the browning step. All those rich caramelized meat juices really add a lot of taste and colour to the gravy.
*Irish Lamb and Barley Stew*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
A delicious stew that cooks either on top of the stove or in the slow cooker.
2 TBS olive oil
1 kg (2 pounds) diced lamb shoulder
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped coarsely
1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped coarsely
1/2 small swede, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 litre of chicken stock (4 cups)
1/2 litre of boiling water (2 cups)
200g of pearl barley (1 cup)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
1/2 of a small savoy cabbage, finely shredded
a handful of flat leaf parsely, coarsely chopped
Heat half of the oil in a large saucepan; cook the lamb, in batches until browned. Remove from the pan. Add the remaining oil and heat. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften. Return the lamb to the pan, along with the stock, water, barley and thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, for 1 hour, covered. Add the potato and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, until tender. Add the cabbage and simmer for about 10 minutes longer, uncovered, or just until the cabbage is tender. Discard the thyme. Serve the stew ladled out into heated bowls and sprinkled with the parsley.
Note: if using the slow cooker, brown the meat and vegetables and then put them into the cooker along with the barley, hot stock and water and the herbs. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Add the potatoes and recover. Cook on high for 35 to 40 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, uncovered on high for 10 to 15 minutes.
*Crock Pot Butter Roasted Pecans*
Makes 6 cups
Printable Recipe
Moreishly buttery and scrummy.
4 ounces butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 pounds pecan halves
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Optional ingredients:
garlic powder
onion powder
dried herbs (savoury, basil, oregano)
Place the butter into a 4.5 litre slowcooker. Heat on high for about half an hour to melt the butter. Add the pecans and toss to coat with the butter. Cover and cook on high for 1/2 hour. Uncover and cook on high for another 2 1/2 hours, giving them a stir every 1/2 hour. (You want to keep an eye on them and stir them often so that they don't catch as you are cooking them on a high temperature.) At the end of that time they should be nicely roasted. Spread out onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with the sale and pepper, and any optional ingredients you wish to use. Give them a good stir together and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
All in all I am very pleased with this machine. It has a lovely round shape which fits well into my kitchen. The cord is of a nice length and also stores very easily in the base when you want to put it away. I love that the cooking pot and lid wash up beautifully in the dish washer. I love that I can brown and stew with it, as well as slow cookin on a low, medium or high temperature . . . and I just adored the keep warm function, which means that it will hold your food for a further 2 hours at a warm temperature without over cooking it.
Keeping things fairly simple around here. To be honest, I am not really all that hungry, but my hubby still has to eat. I found a small package of lamb mince in the freezer and so today I did him a shepherd's pie.
People often confuse Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie, using the terms interchangeably. In reality, although quite similar, they are actually two very different things, with one using minced lamb and the other minced beef.
The clues are in the names . . . a Cottage Pie, uses beef, and is so called because of the "thatch" of mashed potatoes on top . . . said to resemble a thatched roof cottage.
There is certainly a "Thatch" of mash on both casseroles . . .
"Shepherd's" Pie is so called because it uses minced lamb . . . and it is shepherds who have traditionally cared for flocks of sheep/lambs.
My Todd really loves a dinner like this. Meat and potatoes are his favourite of all food combinations, and you can't get more meat and potatoes than this!
I have sized it down to generously serve two people. (There being only two of us in the home, and me only really wanting to serve it to Todd.) There are quantities in the recipe for both two and four servings.
Its a fairly simple and classic recipe. Some recipes call for the addition of veggies, some don't. I choose to add in some grated carrot, and a layer of peas.
The carrot gets grated into the meat mixture, where it flavours the gravy nicely . . .
The peas I add in a layer between the meat and gravy and the potato thatch on top . . .
I also add a smattering of grated strong white cheddar cheese to the top of the potato . . .
It tastes really good and helps to get a really nice golden brown colour to the finished dish.
Todd was one very happy camper when I set this down in front of him. You would have thought all of his Christmas's had come at once.
Yield: 2
Shepherd's Pie for Two
prep time: 25 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 55 mins
A classic family favourite perfectly sized for two. Ingredient measurements for 4 are in the brackets.
ingredients:
- 2 tsp sunflower oil (1 TBS)
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (1 medium onion)
- 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated (1 medium carrot)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (1 clove)
- 1/2 pound lean minced lamb (1 pound)
- 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (1 tsp)
- 2 tsp plain flour (1 TBS)
- 150ml (generous half cup) lamb or vegetable stock (300ml/1 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (1 TBS)
- frozen peas (Optional)
- 1 pound floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2 pounds)
- 2 TBS milk (4 TBS)
- 1 1/2 TBS butter (3 TBS)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 40g (1 1/2 oz) strong white cheddar cheese (50g/2 ounces)
instructions:
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the onion and garlic in it until softened. Add the minced lamb and cook, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until browned. Stir in the carrot and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and herbs. Gradually whisk in the stock and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until it bubbles and begins to thicken. Leave to simmer while you do the mash.
- Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender, about 12 - 15 minutes. Drain well. (Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5) Return to the pot and shake over the residual heat of the burner to dry out. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in the butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning of the lamb mixture. Pour into the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover with a layer of frozen peas. Spoon the mash over top to cover, roughing the surface up with the back of a spoon or a fork. Sprinkle with the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Spoon out onto heated plates to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Note - the herbs I used were dried parsley, thyme, rosemary and marjoram
I picked up some really nice lamb shoulder the other day and decided to make a tasty stew with it.
Stews are one of the best things about winter. So comforting and delicious, and so easy to make. You just can't enjoy a stew in the summer time . . . they are too heavy and they heat up the kitchen too much, but in the winter? Bob's your uncle!
It's stew time! Simply browned meat, simmered together in a tasty gravy with some winter vegetables. What could be any better?
Oh . . . mmmm . . . feather dumplings, plopped on top and steamed until they are light and fluffy as . . . well . . . a feather!!
Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings. Make some today. Your tummy will thank you and so will your family! Exceedingly so!
*Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
Simple goodness. Tender chunks of lamb and vegetables beneath a blanket of feather dumplings.
2 pounds boneless shoulder of lamb, trimmed
and cut into cubes
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS plain flour
500ml of hot lamb stock (2 cups\0
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into slices
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 small swede, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp summer savoury
For the dumplings:
4.25 ounces of plain flour (1 cup)
3/4 ounce fresh bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 of a small onion, peeled and minced
2 TBS butter melted
100ml of milk (1/3 cuo)
1 large free range egg
1 TBS finely minced parsley
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Boiled potatoes to serve
Heat a large skillet (with a lid) over medium high heat. Add the oil. Once it is heated add the cubed meat. Brown well on all sides, taking care not to stir it too much. If you stir it too much it will stew instead of browning. Just leave it be and give it a stir ever five minutes or so. This will take about 15 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add the onions and swede. Season with some salt and pepper and add the summer savoury. Pour on the hot stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Add the carrot and parsnips. cover again and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust as desired.
Make the dumplings as follows:
Whisk the flour, bread crumbs, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Beat together the egg, milk, butter, onion, parsley and pepper. Stir into the dry ingredients all at once and mix to a stiff batter. Drop by heaped spoonfuls onto the top of the bubbling stew. Cover with a lid and cook, undisturbed and without lifting the lid for 20 minutes.
Serve the stew immediately, spooning some of it onto each of six heated plates along with a dumpling and with some boiled potatoes on the side.
Delicious!
This is a delicious dish I made a while back and am only getting around to showing you now. It's a delicious Greek Stew made with lamb shoulder, tomatoes, wine and a variety of spices. It may not look like much, but it's really fabulous!
I am here today with another classic recipe from my archives. Shepherd's Pie. This recipe is a long time family favourite which has been pleasing generations of families for years and years!
When it comes right down to it that is not surprising. It is simple ingredients put together in a delicious way. You cannot beat the simple things for bringing comfort into a Home Sweet Home.
What you have here is a delicious lamb filling, with tasty lamb in a rich gravy. Topped with cooked peas and then a thatch of cheesy mash!
People often confuse Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie, using the terms
interchangeably. In reality, although quite similar, they are actually
two very different things, with one using minced lamb and the other
minced beef.
The clues are in the names. A Cottage Pie, uses beef, and is so
called because of the "thatch" of mashed potatoes on top, which is said to
resemble a thatched roof cottage.
But certainly, there is a "thatch" on both casseroles.
Shepherd's pie is made using ground lamb. Lamb was not something I ate a lot of in Canada. It was not all that easy to find although my late FIL raised lamb on his farm. It is probably the same as it is in most places.
You have a hard time finding things that are actually grown there because it usually gets shipped elsewhere. That's why we end up eating California berries and BC apples, even though we have really good ones here in Nova Scotia. It's all down to trade agreements.
It is Shepherds who have traditionally cared for the flocks of lambs. I had not realized just how very complicated that job was until I lived in the UK. Most of the sheep are free range sheep and the caregivers need to be able to cover a huge area to care for their HUGE flocks.
It is not like the old days where you see an old man with a shepherd's hook and a dog. Nowadays they are more likely to have a land rover and a dog. You see sheep wandering all over the place in rural areas. It's quite fascinating really.
I remember the first time I went up to the Horseshoe Pass in Wales. I was amazed at all the sheep. They were everywhere. Dotting the hillsides, on the roads, etc.
I remember tip toe-ing through the grass trying to avoid their mess, not wanting to step on it. But there was no getting away from it, and really it doesn't smell anyways. Not like others. You just had to give up after a while!
This homey casserole is a real man pleaser. A family pleaser. Comfort food at its very best.
If you have a husband or family that is fond of meat and potatoes, then they are sure to love this tasty dish with its flavour filled meat and gravy on the bottom.
I use a bit of carrot in the mix with the meat and onions. This adds a little touch of sweetness and helps to get in a bit of extra veg. You could certainly add some celery if you wished or even grated turnips. Both would work well.
I also flavour the gravy with Worcestershire Sauce. It adds a lovely touch. You could add a splash of HP sauce as well if you liked, or even Ketchup but it is not really traditional if you do.
I like to add a layer of frozen peas to the middle and I don't cook them first. I hate over-cooked peas. If you just add a layer of frozen peas they end up perfect at the end. Nice and green too.
You could certainly also use frozen corn, or even frozen mixed vegetables. All are nice.
The thatch of potatoes on top is really nice and flavour filled as well. You will want to use a nice floury potato so that your mash is nice and light.
Don't use new potatoes. Old potatoes work best. New Potatoes don't mash properly. I made that mistake once at Thanksgiving when I was really young and didn't know better. Are you familiar with the consistency of glue? haha Yep, not very appealing in the least!
God bless my family for putting up with rubber chickens and glue-like mash through the years while I was learning and growing my skills. I just have to laugh about it now.
Nobody ever complained though and all of my children are wonderful cooks and love to cook. Their children love to cook also, which is really nice. I cannot wait to cook with my grandchildren. They are already putting in their cookie orders!
I have 20 years of lost time to make up for and I plan on doing just that for the remainder of my days. Making up for lost time. Building memories for those grands that are much more than a photograph or a face through a screen that they cannot touch!
That is the silver lining in all that I have been through lately. Being able to be with family and forge relationships with my grandchildren. That is the real gift. And I will never take it for granted, not ever.
I have sized this recipe down to generously serve just two people. There are quantities in the recipe for both two and four servings.
The larger servings are in brackets. I hope that it is easy to understand and not confusing. I tried to make it as easy as possible.
I added a layer of grated cheese to the top of my casserole. I don't know about you, but I think a layer of cheese always adds a lovely touch to the tops of savoury things.
I prefer a strong cheddar because you don't need as much of it to give you a nice flavour impact. You can just use whatever kind you want to use though.
The cheese tastes really good and helps to get a really nice golden brown colour to the finished dish. I think something which is topped with golden brown anything automatically tastes even better.
We eat with our eyes first. Enjoy!
Shepherds Pie
Yield: 2 (4)
prep time: 25 Mincook time: 30 Mintotal time: 55 Min
A classic family favourite perfectly sized for two. Ingredient measurements for 4 are in the brackets.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sunflower oil (1 TBS)
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (1 medium onion)
- 1/2 medium carrot peeled and grated (1 medium carrot)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (1 clove)
- 1/2 pound lean minced lamb (1 pound)
- 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (1 tsp)
- 2 tsp plain flour (1 TBS)
- 150ml (generous half cup) lamb or vegetable stock (300ml/1 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (1 TBS)
- frozen peas (Optional)
- 1 pound floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2 pounds)
- 2 TBS milk (4 TBS)
- 1 1/2 TBS butter (3 TBS)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 40g (1 1/2 oz) strong white cheddar cheese (50g/2 ounces)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the onion and garlic in it until softened. Add the minced lamb and cook, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until browned.
- Stir in the carrot and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and herbs. Gradually whisk in the stock and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until it bubbles and begins to thicken. Leave to simmer while you do the mash.
- Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender, about 12 - 15 minutes. Drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5
- Return to the pot and shake over the residual heat of the burner to dry out. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in the butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning of the lamb mixture. Pour into the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover with a layer of frozen peas. Spoon the mash over top to cover, roughing the surface up with the back of a spoon or a fork. Sprinkle with the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Spoon out onto heated plates to serve.
This was always one of my father's favourite suppers! He is a simple man with simple tastes and not too hard to please so long as it is not too far out of the ordinary!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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