Spring Lamb Casserole Recipes

LAMB STEW WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the canola oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer the bacon to a large plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Dry the lamb with paper towels and toss it in a bowl first with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and then with the 1/4 cup of flour. Raise the heat to medium high and cook half the lamb in the bacon fat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Add the lamb to the plate with the bacon and brown the second batch, also transferring it to the plate. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for one minute.
• Pour the lamb and bacon, along with any juices that collect, back into the pot. Add the beef stock, wine, tomatoes (including the juice), thyme, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits in the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, onions and turnips, cover and return to the oven for 1 hour, until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash the 2 tablespoons of flour with the butter in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew and simmer on top of the stove for 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the peas and parsley, season to taste and serve hot in large shallow bowls.

SPRING LAMB AND CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• Place chickpeas in a large soup pot. Season lamb pieces generously with salt and pepper, then add to pot. Stick the 4 cloves into the onion halves, and add them to the pot along with 6 cups water.
• Bring pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a steady simmer. Put on the lid and simmer until lamb is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn off heat. Skim off any rising fat. (At this point, you may set the dish aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving, or refrigerate up to 2 days, though it really tastes best the day it is made.)
• When ready to serve, reheat lamb and chickpeas in broth. Put olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and add leeks. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sizzle for a minute, add red pepper flakes, then add carrots and a ladle of the lamb broth. Simmer until carrots are done, about 5 minutes. Add the chard, a little salt and another splash of lamb broth. Turn heat to high and cook, stirring, until leaves are tender, a few minutes more. Add fava beans or peas, cover the pan, and turn off heat. They will cook nicely in the residual heat for 4 or 5 minutes.
• To serve, mound greens and vegetables on one side of a large serving platter. On the other side, place lamb pieces and ladle over some broth and chickpeas. Sprinkle with chopped mint.

SPRING LAMB CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Coat the meat in the seasoned flour, shake off the excess flour
• Heat some oil in a heavy based casserole dish and brown the lamb really well on all sides.
• Remove the lamb from the pan and pour in the bottle of white wine, scrape any meaty bits off the bottom of the pan and reduce the wine by half.
• Add the stock, onions, tomatoes, garlic and meat to the wine and heat through gently on the hob. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
• Cover the casserole dish and put into a preheated oven for about an hour-and-a-half at 180°C. Once the cooking is finished, take it out of the oven.
• With a slotted spoon take the meat out of the sauce and put on a plate to one side.
• Pass the sauce through a sieve; discard the vegetables and bouquet garni what is in the sieve
• Return the sauce to the pan and reduce slightly and thicken it with a little flour if necessary. Check flavour and adjust seasoning to taste if you need to
• Once the sauce has been corrected and cooked through, return the meat to the sauce, gently heat through and add the spring vegetables.

SPRING LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Generously sprinkle the leg of lamb with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over a medium-high heat. In two batches, brown the lamb all over and remove to a plate, 4 to 6 minutes per batch.
• Add the onions, carrots and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cook for a minute or two. Add the tomato paste and stir. Deglaze with the red wine and beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pot. Stir in the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Return the lamb to the pot and bring to a simmer.
• Place the lid on the pot and roast until the meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

SPRING LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to pot and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves and thyme and stir 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until lamb and vegetables are almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Uncover stew and simmer until gravy thickens and lamb and vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes longer. Add parsley. Season stew to taste with salt and pepper.

SPRINGTIME LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Season flour with salt and pepper. Lightly dust lamb with flour.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet equipped with cover and sear lamb over medium-high heat until golden. Do not crowd meat in skillet. Remove browned lamb to dish, lower heat and saute onion and garlic in skillet until soft but not browned.
• Return lamb and any accumulated juices to skillet and add wine, chicken stock, rosemary and lemon zest. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Melt butter in another skillet and toss potatoes in it over medium heat until they become golden. Remove potatoes, draining well and leaving as much of butter as possible in skillet. Add potatoes to skillet with lamb, season with salt and pepper to taste and continue cooking, covered, for 45 minutes until potatoes are tender. Lamb should also be tender by this time.
• When potatoes are just tender, add peas to skillet and cook for 10 minutes longer. Meanwhile, toss scallions over medium heat in butter remaining in skillet from potatoes. Cook until scallions are tender but still bright green. Add to stew along with parsley, reseason with salt and pepper as necessary and serve.