Name: Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 4 pounds lamb shoulder chops with bone or 2 1/3 pounds boneless lamb stew meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces. Meat that clings to the bones is fine. It will come off easily after cooking.; Kosher salt; Fresh ground black pepper; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; Vegetable oil such as light olive oil or canola; 1 large onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups); 1 cup Guinness Stout or dry Vermouth (your preference); 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste; 4 cups low salt chicken broth, divided; A 6-inch sprig of fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary; 8 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal into wedges; 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes; 1 1/4 pounds green beans, ends trimmed; 1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted

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There's nothing like a great stew to satisfy and warm you from the inside. Here's a heavenly lamb stew with extremely tender lamb, loads of fresh veggies, and rich savory flavors. It's a whole dinner in one pot that's worthy of any occasion.

St. Patrick's Day is a few weeks away and so is spring. I'm excited for both. I'm all for celebrating every possible occasion and St. Patrick's Day is a particularly delicious food holiday, with corned beef and cabbage, corned beef hash, shepherd's pie and Irish stew.

In honor of St Patrick's Day and the coming of spring, here's a delicious recipe for lamb stew with spring vegetables.

There isn't a definitive modern day Irish stew recipe. (I'd love to know if you disagree) Way back when, before the potato famine, Irish Stew - ballymaloe - was a peasant dish composed of the most simple, cheap and readily available ingredients: mutton (older, tougher sheep meat), root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, parsnips), parsley and water. Today there are endless variations - some with lamb, some with beef. Potatoes can be cooked with the meat or mashed and served on the side. Some versions include wine, others contain Guinness stout.

I experimented quite a bit and ended up with this lamb stew recipe that achieves everything I want lamb stew to be: extremely tender lamb in a rich savory sauce with potatoes bright fresh spring vegetables.

How to make the best lamb stew

If you flour and brown the lamb and then simmer it slowly, adding the vegetables later in the cooking process, you'll end up with the most incredibly tender lamb and perfectly cooked veggies.

Cut the lamb into bite-sized pieces, season it with salt and pepper, and toss it with flour. Shake the cubes of lamb in a colander to remove the excess flour. Brown the lamb in batches and transfer it to a stew pot.
Sauté onions in a skillet until lightly browned and add them to the stew pot. Add Guinness or Vermouth to the skillet and deglaze it, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of meat and onion. Pour the liquid into the stew pot and add the garlic, tomato paste, chicken broth, and fresh rosemary. Cover the pot and gently simmer the stew for an hour.
While the stew is simmering, blanch the green beans for about 3 minutes, until they're bright green and slightly tender. Shock them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Blanching the green beans is an extra step but it’s so worthwhile. The beans are bright green and cooked to perfection and are then added to the stew at the end.
When the stew has simmered for an hour, bury the carrots and potatoes in the stew and simmer it for 25-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the blanched green beans and the peas. Cover and cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve hot.

What is the best cut of lamb for lamb stew?

Almost any cut of lamb will work for stew but lamb shoulder is my favorite. It's nicely marbleized and gets extremely tender when braised low and slow.
I prefer to buy a large piece of lamb and do all the trimming and slicing myself. I enjoy finding pathways along the bones, slicing off the fat, and cutting the cubes just the way I want them. But if butchering isn't your thing, look for precut lamb stew meat at the grocery store.
If you do buy lamb on the bone, cook the bones in with the stew for added flavor. Don't worry about cutting off all the meat, it will fall off the bones as the stew cooks and the meat tenderizes.

Is lamb stew better with wine or beer?

I wondered about this so I cooked two identical pots of this stew with only one variable - I used dry white wine for one batch and Guinness stout for the other. There were subtle differences in flavor. The stew made with wine had a more French flavor. In the end, both pots of stew were excellent. I suggest you use Guinness if you're making Irish stew for St. Patrick's Day. Otherwise, choose wine or beer, whichever you prefer or what you have on hand.

If you'd like to serve a salad on the side with your lamb stew, I recommend this citrusy butter lettuce salad.

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It's been a particularly cold winter here in New England and, though I'm excited for spring, I also feel the need to grab onto the last weeks of winter and cook up some cozy comforting stews while there's still snow on the ground.

Here's the recipe for Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables. If you try this recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think.

Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

Author: Lisa
Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins
Yield: 6 1x

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Description

A wonderful lamb stew for any occasion.

Ingredients

Units Scale

4 pounds lamb shoulder chops with bone or 2 ⅓ pounds boneless lamb stew meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces. Meat that clings to the bones is fine. It will come off easily after cooking.
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
½ cup all purpose flour
Vegetable oil such as light olive oil or canola
1 large onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced (1 ½ cups)
1 cup Guinness Stout or dry Vermouth (your preference)
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups low salt chicken broth, divided
A 6-inch sprig of fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
8 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal into wedges
2 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 ¼ pounds green beans, ends trimmed
1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted

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Instructions

Slice potatoes into bite-sized wedges and put them into a bowl of cold water, to prevent them from discoloring
Pat the meat dry and lay it on a wax paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour by tossing meat in a mesh colander before browning.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in a large skillet until hot. Brown lamb on all sides in two or three batches, 3-4 minutes per batch, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer browned lamb to a large heavy pot or Dutch oven.
Add onions to the skillet and sauté, stirring, for a few minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer them to the stew pot. Pour the Guinness or Vermouth into the empty skillet and stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge any stuck browned bits of meat and onion, then pour the liquid into the stew pot along with the garlic, tomato paste, 3 cups of chicken broth, and rosemary. (ingredients should just barely be covered with liquid) Bring the contents to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour.
While the stew is simmering, bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop the green beans in and boil for about 3 minutes, until just crisp-tender. Drain the beans and quickly transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool them quickly and ensure they stay crisp and bright green.
After the meat has simmered for an hour, remove the bones (if using) and degrease cooking liquid by letting the fat rise to the surface for a few minutes and skimming it with a spoon or by cooling the stew in the fridge for several hours or overnight, and scraping the fat off the top. The stew can be made ahead to this point and stored in the fridge for up to two days.
Bring stew back to a simmer before continuing. Season broth with salt and pepper, to taste. Bury the carrots and potatoes in the stew, adding 1 extra cup of broth, if necessary. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Drain the green beans and bury them in the stew along with the peas. Cover and cook the stew for 5 minutes more, until the beans and peas are hot. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve hot.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 mins
Category: Stew
Method: simmer
Cuisine: Irish

Keywords: Lamb stew with vegetables and potatoes

Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

How to make the best lamb stew

What is the best cut of lamb for lamb stew?