Easiest Ever Lamb and Vegetable Stew
I’ll start off by saying that this is a great family meal. It’s perfect for postnatal mums, and great for toddlers and babies from about 8-9 months (Please see Notes on how to adapt for babies). I make this stew almost every week because it’s fast to prepare, very forgiving, has basic ingredients that can be easily substituted, is easily repurposed into other meals and it’s cheap. Plus having dinner on the slow cook by 10am really makes me feel like I have my life in order! This stew has the most simple (boring) ingredients but the magic is in the slow cook- that’s where the flavour and nutrition lies. This stew can be enjoyed with rice, potatoes or sweet potato mash, as a pie filling, or even as a “ragu” over pasta, especially the next day.
INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbs ghee or olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 onion, diced (and/or sliced leek)
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 kg of a cheap slow cook lamb or beef
1.5 L broth, plain water or half/half
Bunch of baby carrots or 3 medium, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
1 can tomatoes
Bunch of herbs like parsley & rosemary tied with kitchen string
10 peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
Dash of apple cider vinegar
METHOD:
Heat ghee or oil in a large pot (I like a big cast iron pot like Le Creuset) and saute the onion/garlic/leek until soft. Then add your meat and fry until browned on both sides.
Next add the tomatoes and water/broth so the meat is just covered. Then pop in your peppercorns, bay leaves, herbs and half the carrots. Gently push down so they’re submerged. Bring to the boil and then cook on the lowest heat for at least 6 hours, or until meat is falling away. Check on it occasionally and add more liquid if necessary to ensure the meat is just covered.
In the last hour, add the remaining carrots and potatoes. When ready, remove the wilted herbs and any bones. Serve as is, or as a pie filling or pasta ragu sauce. It’s very versatile and great the next day!
Notes:
I haven’t specified the meat cut as it’s best to ask your butcher for the best “slow cook” cut they have that day. It’s usually the cheapest!
As the meat and vegetables are well cooked, this stew can served as is for toddlers. For babies, this stew is appropriate from about 8-9 months onwards when you can start introducing vegetables from the nightshade family (like tomatoes and potatoes) and red meat like lamb. You can just take the baby serve and mash very well or puree in a small food processor.