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Easy Peasy Braised Lamb

Friday 4 November 2011
Thank you for the wonderful comments that all of you have left. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to reply but trust me, I've read them all. Twice. Thrice. And they never fail to bring a smile to my face. Thank you!

I'm not a fan of red meat. I do like the odd steak as long as it's cooked to perfection. Despite growing up in Canterbury, New Zealand where there are more sheep per capita than humans, I rarely eat lamb or mutton. Speaking of sheep farming, I was once coerced by a friend of mine to help him out during lambing season. Pulling a lamb out from its mama's womb with my bare hands is not something I'm in a hurry to do again.

The recipe's from Angela Hartnett's latest cookbook A Taste of Home. This particular dish was apparently a great seller at the Connaught, the luxury hotel in Mayfair when she was the chef at the Michelin starred restaurant there. I can see why. Lamb has a distinctive smell which I find rather off putting. However, this dish is not only incredibly easy to put together, the braised lamb is super tender and tastes divine. As usual, I took a few shortcuts because 1) I'm a busy working mom  2) I can't be arsed. Remember I'm the ultimate Lazy Cook? I rarely have time to make chicken stock from scratch so I just use cubed ones. I also did away with parchment paper because I'm hopeless with cutting shapes including round ones.



lambstew


Serves 4
Ingredients:

2 tbsp groundnut oil (I use sunflower oil)
4 necks of lamb
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 head of garlic, cut in half
2 medium onions, chopped
5 white peppercorns, crushed  (I don't have any so I used Szechuan peppercorns instead)
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato puree
150ml white wine
1 - 1.5 litres chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper



1. You need an ovenproof or casserole dish large enough to hold the necks and all the vegetables. Heat the oil in the pan and color the lamb necks until golden brown. Remove them, then add the vegetables, spices and herbs and brown gently.

2. Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius/ Fan 140 degree Celsius/ Gas Mark 3.

3. Put the lamb necks back into the pan, add the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and stir to scrape up all the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan, then add enough stock to cover.

4. Bring the stock back to the boil. Season and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Cook in the preheated oven for 2.5 hours (mine was done in a little under 1.5 hours). Check the seasoning and add chopped parsley just before serving.

5. I served mine with crusty bread but mash will go really well too.


7 comments:

  1. I love lamb actually - I know some people don't! This looks amazing as always and I adore the idea of serving it with crusty bread :) Another believer in pre-made chicken stock right here! I think it's so yummy, sometimes I just drink it with some pepper as a hot drink in winter.

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  2. This looks super good and easy to prepare! I'm not a lamb person, but I hope to acquire a taste for it one day. What an experience (birthing of a lamb)! I would've fainted. HAHA Have a great weekend! :D
    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

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  3. Oh gosh - this looks so delicious. Not a good idea for me to come here at 11pm and see this, now I need to go search for food ;) Have a great weekend!

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  4. This looks delicious but sounds surprisingly simple! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  5. Kat, despite coming from NZ where lamb is plentiful, I've never really taken to it. However, I actually don't mind eating lamb when it's cooked this way. Hmm....I've never drank cubed stock that way before but I might do so on a cold winter's night.

    Kim, hahaha....I was grossed out. I will NEVER EVER do it again.

    just tututiny, thank you so much for dropping by. LOL. At least this is relatively fat free.

    Lindsay, I don't know how much the Connaught charged for this meal but I'm sure it's a lot. It's actually so easy and relatively cheap to make it.

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  6. Marlene! I made it! Another hit in my house! Husband loved it! (I used lamb shoulder instead of neck because that's what the grocery store carried.) It was really good! :)

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  7. Sara, thank you for your lovely comment. My apologies for taking so long to type out a reply. Hope you get the chance to try out the recipe.

    Sam, I'm thrilled hubby and you love it! Just goes to show that anyone can make Michelin starred recipes!

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