Peasant Food
Late dinner tonight, Irish Lamb Stew just coming out of the oven. I modified this starting from "New Best Recipe" by CI (Cook's Illustrated).
"Authentic" Irish Lamb Stew is supposed to be nothing but lamb, potatoes, some onion. I happen to like carrots in stews, and hoping that "Tradition" will forgive me for that, I added some. Peasants eat carrots, too, really. At least, I do.
But then I modified it some more, browning the meat in Cabernet + olive oil, and adding more Cabernet to the stew. Pretty blasphemous break from the real thing. I imagine a few million Irish peasants screaming at me right now. The modified dish, on the other hand, is really delicious. Screw the peasants.
"Authentic" Irish Lamb Stew has the raw ingredients layered up in a pot and cooked until the potatoes thicken the sauce ... which means, by that time, they're well overcooked and smushy. The CI version calls for browning the meat first, then the onions. Put that away in the oven for an hour, then add the potatoes, layered on top, cook for another hour. Flour is used in the intermediate step to thicken the sauce, rather than the overdone potatoes.
4 1/2 lbs. Shoulder lamb chops, bone-in, at least 1" thick, preferably 1 1/2".
3 Tbs vegetable oil (my sub., olive oil, instead)
3 Onions, medium size (my sub., 2 large, one yellow, one white). Chopped coarsely, about 4 cups.
0 cup Cabernet (my sub., 1 cup Cabernet, because it was there. And adds some nice flavour complexity.)
1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour (my sub., + 2 Tbs to compensate for the extra liquid of the wine).
3 cups water (my sub., - 1/2 cup to compensate for the extra liquid of the wine).
1 tsp. dried Thyme leaves
0 lb Carrots (my sub., 1/2 lb Carrots. Peeled, sliced against the bias, 60 degrees, 1/4" thick to make nice carrot "ovals")
6 medium Yukon Gold or red potatoes, about 2 lbs. Peeled, cut into 1/2" - 1" cubes. (Do not use high-starch potatoes such as Russets). (my sub., 4 of those, cutting a bit to adjust for the carrots).
1/4 cup minced fresh Parsley leaves
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position. Burn fingers. Remember next time to adjust oven rack before pre-heating. Cut lamb meat from bones (reserve bones!), trim excess fat, cut into 1 1/2 cube-like pieces. Some meat will still be on the bone. We'll deal with this later. Season generously with salt + pepper (and I dosed in a slight pinch of extra thyme).
2. Heat one Tbs of the oil in 8 qt. stock pot/dutch oven on your stovetop, med.-high heat, until shimmering. Add half the meat, spread out so pieces don't touch. Add 1 Tbs of the wine. Brown for 2-3 mins. Turn pieces over to brown on opposite side, another 3-4 minutes. Transfer meat to bowl. No, wait! That's what the recipe says. Instead, just transfer meat to the overturned lid of the stock pot. You don't have to dirty another dish and the lid is gonna get put on the stock pot anyway. Add one more Tbs. oil to pot, repeat browing process for other half of meat. Transfer to lid.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add last Tbs. of oil. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir frequently, scraping up the remainder browned bits from the meat process. Scrape a lot and quickly. Get all those browned bits up from the bottom and sides of stock pot. Do this about 4-5 minutes until onions have softened. Add flour, stir until onions are evenly coated. Scrape, scrape, scrape.
4. Add half of the water. Scrape some more. Get the browned bits. Gradually add other half of water. Swirl and scrape vigorously to dissolve the flour and get more of those browned bits. Add thyme and 1 tsp salt, bring to simmer. Add lamb bones, then add meat and reserved juices from the upturned lid. Return to simmer. Address unknown. Cover pot. Place in oven for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven, place the carrots in an even layer on top of stew. Don't stir. Place the potatoes in an even layer above that. Don't stir again. All that earlier scraping made our arms tired. Return to oven for 1 hour.
6. Take out of oven. Okay, now you can stir. Remove bones (hope you kept track. I did. Had 15 in this batch). Meat remaining on the bone will have softened. Get what you can with easy removal via fork & knife, rest is not worth going after. Toss bones in garbage, return additional meat to pot. Stir in parsley. Serve in warm bowls. Enjoy your hearty stew as millions of Irish traditionalists exclaim, "Yahrrr useless, laddie. Go home. What're ye makin' that mess fahrrr with the wyne 'n carrrhots?" |
