The smell of a hearty stew bubbling away on the stove, filling the house with it's enticing smells, always fill me with anticipation of a satisfying meal to come. It’s richness and robustness also act as a natural defense against the outside cold in winter. Enjoy.
photography by: Louis Hiemstra
Serves: 4-6
Preparation: 20-30 minutes
Cooking: 30-60 minutes
2 Tbsp butter
1 large red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g (17 oz) stewing lamb
Salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbsp thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
125g (4.5 oz) bacon, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 bay leaves
400g (14 oz) baby marrows, sliced
250g (9 oz) button mushrooms, sliced
4 Tbsp flour (all purpose or cake flour)
1 cup red wine or verjuice
2½ cups good quality beef stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 x 400g (14 oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Gremolata:
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp lemon zest
To serve:
Green beans (optional)
Jasmine or basmati rice, cooked to packet instructions
Heat the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan.
Add the onion and garlic and sauté over a medium heat until soft and caramelized.
Add the stewing lamb, season with salt, pepper, thyme and lemon juice and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the bacon and sauté until cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, bay leaves, baby marrows and mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add the flour to ¼ cup of the beef stock and stir to combine well.
Add the flour mixture and the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan. Stir to combine well and bring to a gently simmer over medium to low heat for 30 minutes – 1 hour (depending on the amount of time you have).
Combine the ingredients for the gremolata prior to serving.
Serve the stew sprinkled with gremolata, rice and blanched green beans if desired.
Notes:
Any type of meat or poultry will work well in this recipe. The vegetables can also be replaced with any other preferred varieties such as potatoes, peas, celery, brown mushrooms, butternut, pumpkin or sweet potato.