GastronomicGallivant: Irish Lamb Stew

Brutal wind gusts and incessant rain most part of the weekend has pushed me into making a big batch of spicy lamb stew to ward off the chill that I could feel in my bones.With St.Patrick's day just a couple of days away, I decided on making an authentic Irish Lamb Stew. The latest edition of Costco Connection magazine came to the rescue with, you guessed it, Irish Lamb Stew recipe by Illinois based food columnist Kathleen Furore. According to her, Irish Stew should be very thick and creamy and not swimming in juice.I modified the recipe a bit by marinating the lamb in Yogurt and pepper overnight(The Lactic acid in the Yogurt acts as a natural meat tenderizer),included certain ingredients, added a little bit of curry powder to jazz it up and ended up with a thick stew that I had with Couscous.Well, with the additions I made, I ruined the authenticity but not the taste. So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Lamb - 1 pound
• Potatoes - 2, large, cut into chunks with skin-on
• Carrots - 2, medium, skinned and sliced
• Shallot - 1, small, fine diced
• Red Pearl Onions - 12#s, skinned
• Thyme - 1/2 tsp
• Parsley - 1 tbsp, for garnish
• Curry Powder - 1 tbsp
• Cracked Pepper - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt for taste
• All purpose flour - for dredging
• Yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Cut the lamb into fairly large chunks and marinate overnight in a tbsp of yogurt and 1/2 tsp of cracked pepper.
• Pressure cook the lamb until its 80% cooked. Drain the excess fat and set it aside.
• Heat Olive oil in a deep skillet and add the minced garlic and shallots.
• Dredge the lamb in all-purpose flour and add it to the pan.
• Add the carrots, potatoes, pearl onions, thyme, pepper powder and salt.
• Saute until the meat, veggies are browned.
• Add the reserved fat(from pressure cooking the lamb) and some water and simmer for an hour, checking periodically for an hour.
• Serve the stew hot with crusty bread, or even top a couscous.

Note:

• No Pressure cooker? No Problem. Use a slow cooker and eliminate the second step all together.

Enjoy!