Home at 7, dinner at 8 - Tasty Lamb Stew

Tasty Lamb Stew

Effectively an Irish stew but I didn't want to offend anyone in changing the recipe slightly to be as simple as possible using the good old bare bones of this classic, tasty stew. It is a stew to warm you from the inside out. It's comfort food for me and sometimes only comfort will do.

Preparation 10; Cooking 40-50; Serves 6-8
2.5 litres lamb stock
450g lamb neck fillet, roughly cut into 3cm chunks
400g potatoes, peeled and roughly cut into 3cm chunks
2 bay leaves
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2 leeks, trimmed, white part roughly chopped
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and roughly chopped
salt and pepper
a small handful parsley, chopped

1 Put the stock in a large saucepan on a medium heat and add the lamb. Bring to the boil and skim off any impurities before adding the potatoes and bay leaves. Reduce the heat and leave the stew to simmer for 10 minutes.

2 Add all the remaining vegetables, season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer for a further 30-40 minutes until everything is cooked through.

Before serving, sprinkle the parsley on top.
A really tasty alternative to the lamb stock are a couple of tins of beef consommé.

Recipe from Home at 7, Dinner at 8 by Sophie Wright (£14.99, Kyle Cathie).