Perfect weather for a hearty lamb stew
For red meat eaters, beef is usually the cut of choice in our culture. However, venison, lamb and goat are just as popular in other cultures, especially when it comes to stew. Goat and venison may be a little hard to find in our neighborhood, but Schnucks usually has a good selection of cuts for lamb lovers. Our favorite lamb dish is still Roasted Leg of Lamb. However, lamb stew is quickly becoming a runner up in our household.
Although this recipe is for lamb stew, the meat can be replaced by another other type of red meat. Vegetarians may also just skip the meat all together and the result is a great vegetable stew. Even though the recipe calls for beef soup base, we prefer "Better Than Bouillon" brand of soup bases because they offer a vegetarian "No Beef" flavor which contains no meat products, very little salt and no MSG.
We prefer our stew to have a thick, rich broth, but instead of using flour as a thickener, I prefer to add an extra potato or two, diced into tiny cubes. If the diced potato is put into the pot first, by the time the stew is ready, these small chunks of potatoes have already melted and thickened the broth.
As for veggies, carrots and celery are the traditional stew vegetables because they can withstand simmering for long periods of time. However, whatever veggies are in your refrigerator can also be added to the stew as long as you time it so that the veggies don't get overcooked. On the day I made this stew, I happened to have a couple heads of bok choy laying around, so I threw them in last. As it turns out, they were such a great addition, I think I'll make sure to always include it in the future.
Lamb Stew
(Preparation time: 60 minutes; serves 6)
- * 1 lb lamb (stew cut or shoulder or leftovers)
- * 2 tbs canola oil
- * 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- * 1 bulb garlic, minced
- * ½ cup red wine
- * 4 cups water
- * 2 red potato, diced
- * 2 tbs beef soup base
- * 1 cup carrots, diced
- * 1 cup celery, diced
- * 1 can tomatoes, diced (14 oz)
- * 1 tbs rosemary
- * 2 tbs oregano
- * salt and pepper to taste
- * 6 red potatoes, quartered
- * 1 zucchini, diced
- * 2 heads bok choy, chopped
- * ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1. in a pan, brown lamb in canola oil (if necessary)
2. remove meat (and chop into cubes if necessary)
3. sauté onion in meat drippings and oil until brown
4. add garlic and sauté about one more minute
5. add red wine, transfer ingredients to large pot
6. add water, lamb, diced potatoes, beef base and bring to a boil
7. add carrots, celery, tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper and bring to a boil again
8. let simmer for 20 minutes, then add cubed potatoes, zucchini and bring to a boil again
9. let simmer for 20 minutes, then add bok choy and parsley and bring to a boil again
1 comments
Lamb has recently become our favorite red meat. Our only red meat, actually. We’d pretty much sworn off beef, but the taste of lamb is so much more delicious that it’s hard to resist once in a while. Try ground lamb for meatballs or stuffed peppers. SO much better than ground beef or turkey.
Most Recent Food Comments
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
Also worthy of a mention: Most Oddly Named Restaurant with Fantastic Food: Let’s Take Seat http://letstakeaseat.com/
Other possibilities along this vein: Most Bizarre Restaurant Decor, Runner-Up: The new Merry Ann’s Diner on Nevada has a mural of the scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” where the plane is chasing Cary Grant on a desert landscape. Never understood how that ambiance is supposed…
As a teenager too broke to actually buy anything, I indulged in many a free cup of Kopi water.
Excellent additions, LY.
Possible Honorary Categories: Most Bizarre Restaurant Decor: Mas Amigos on Springfield Av. With painstaking attention to shelving, the owner proudly displays his NFL football helmet collection. WTF? Best Pancakes: Courier Cafe. Huge, fluffy, served with hot syrup. If you can stuff 3 of these down, you don’t…
Most Popular Food Articles (60 days)
- Triptych’s “work of art” in danger
- Bar-B-Q on a budget
- Rick’s bakery serves up tasty pastries
- Aroma Cafe, putting the sexy back in toast
- Picking up dinner at Peking Garden
- Cafe Zojo steals the show
- Speakeasy-style cocktails shake up downtown
- Triptych bypasses another hurdle, waits for results
- BEST Food & Drink
- Throwing off the shackles of Tex-Mex
Most Recent Comments
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
@Dan - Wow. Unfortunately, I have to refrain from further comment due to a previous employment relationship. But with that brief context you might be able to imagine possible comments or responses I could have.
Oh, by the way, the “Champaign County YMCA” no longer exists. The official name is now the “Stephens Family YMCA” (the website has not been updated, but check out the latest program guide). And no, it’s not just the name of the building. It’s the name of the organization.
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…