Irish stew is a celebrated Irish dish traditionally made from mutton or lamb, potatoes, onions and vegetables. An old-fashioned Irish stew is meant to be cooked over an open flame but you can still make it at home on your stove so long as you slow cook the stew over some time.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 900g boneless lamb/mutton shoulder, cut into roughly 3cm to 4cm pieces
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 950 ml mutton or beef stock
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 fresh garlic clove, crushed
Instructions:
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Cook the lamb/mutton pieces first, stirring gently, until they are evenly browned. Season the lamb with salt.
- Add onions, garlic and carrots. Allow them to cook alongside the lamb/mutton for a few minutes before stirring in the stock.
- Cover and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a low setting and allow the stew to simmer for a minimum of 1 hour. (If you’re using a tougher cut of meat, you may need to let the stew to simmer for a bit longer until the meat gets soft)
- Add potatoes and let the stew simmer for another 15-20 minutes, before adding the parsley and rosemary.
- Continue simmering, uncovered, until the potatoes become tender, but remain whole.
- Take off the heat and serve with your favourite side dish.
