Irish stew made with beef, potatoes, carrots and herbs
INGREDIENTS
1.5 kg / 3 pounds best end of neck of lamb (on the bone if you prefer it that way: otherwise removed from the bone and cut into large chunks)
900g / 2 pounds floury potatoes, peeled and sliced
900g / 2 pounds of onions, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large bouquet garni, including celery tops if possible
12 small new potatoes (you can peel these if you like, but leaving the skins on is OK too)
12 small onions (around ping-pong ball size)
Chopped parsley
Instructions
This recipe can be done either on the stovetop or in the oven. If in the oven, preheat the oven to 150° C / 300° F.
1.In a large heavy pot, place one third of the sliced onions and the sliced potatoes. Place half the lamb on this layer: season it with salt and pepper. Add half the remaining onions and the sliced potatoes.
2.Season again and add the garlic, the bouquet garni, and the rest of the meat. Finish with a layer of the sliced onions and potatoes, and season with more salt and pepper.
3.Add water to the pot until it just covers the meat and vegetables. Bring to the boil and then cover with waxed paper and a lid. Cook slowly on the stovetop or in the oven for an hour.
4 While this stage of the cooking is going on, peel the small onions and (if you want to) the new potatoes.
5.Remove the stew from the oven or take it off the heat after an hours. The potatoes will be falling apart… which is what you want. Use a potato masher to mash most of them up, as their purpose in the stew is to thicken the gravy. Add the new potatoes and whole small onions to the stew.
5.If you’ve left your meat on the bone, you can remove it at this point — it should be cooked through — and set it aside: when the stew is done you can return the meat to the pot just before serving. If the stew is too thick for you, add a little water. Cover the pot again and cook for another hour.
6.Then if you’ve removed meat on the bone, put it back in and let it heat through. Serve in hot bowls garnished with parsley. Soda bread on the side works really well to soak up the gravy.
