Darina Allen: Three comforting one-pot stew recipes to warm you up on a cold day

After a winter walk, there's nothing like a homemade stew to warm you up

Ireland has so many exciting walks to choose from through the forest and woodlands, over the hills, by the seashore… Songs have been sung and poems have been written about the joy of a winter walk through the frosty countryside. I love John Clare’s poem and Thoreau’s Winter Walk essay and then there’s the Canadian poet Lynette Roberts’s Winter Walk and Christina Umpfenbach’s poem also of the same name.

When it’s frosty and cold outside, it’s tempting just to curl up by the fire, but good to remember that exposure to the cold conditions can actually boost the immune system and makes us more resilient to seasonal colds and flu, provided we are well wrapped up — pull out those mitts and woolly hat! 

Nature has a calming effect; I’m sure you’ve noticed how a good walk lifts your mood, boosts energy and appetite, and combats winter blues. It’s a natural antidote to winter melancholy.

So, don’t let the cold deter you, let’s embrace the winter chill. Grab your rucksack and pack a little picnic. How about filling a flask with something hot and comforting? It could be a chunky soup or how maybe mulled wine or spicy mulled apple juice. 

I’ve got a simple formula, pour a 700ml bottle of pure apple juice into a stainless steel saucepan, followed by 750ml of water. Add thin strips of rind from an orange, preferably organic Toss in eight whole cloves, three small cinnamon sticks, 75g of golden caster sugar, six allspice of pimento berries, and a half teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg. Warm gently, taste, it may need a little more sugar. Pour it into a hot flask and off you go. 

Leftovers will keep in the fridge and can of course be reheated for up to a week, but you’ll have drunk it by then! Enjoy.

But now we also want something to look forward to when we arrive home, maybe chilled and ravenous from a bracing walk.

Here are three chunky one-pot stews to look forward to, each benefit from being cooked ahead so you can also invite a few of your walking buddies to join you for a convivial supper around the kitchen table….

Lamb & Pearl Barley Stew with Gremolata

recipe by:Darina Allen

A substantial pot of stew fortified with pearl barley, which boosts the nutrient levels and the goodness

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 350g piece of green streaky bacon (blanched if salty)

• 1.8kg gigot or rack chops from the shoulder of lamb, not less than 2.5cm thick

• well-seasoned plain flour, for dusting

• a little extra virgin olive oil, for frying

• 350g mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 700g whole, small onions - baby ones are nicest

• 350g carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

• 150g parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced

• 350-400g pearl barley

• approx. 2.8 litres homemade lamb or chicken stock

• sprig of thyme

• flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the Gremolata

• 4 tbsp chopped mixed herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chervil and mint

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 generous tsp grated or finely chopped organic lemon zest

• flaky sea salt, to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

2. First make the stew. Cut the rind off the bacon and cut into approx. 1cm cubes. Divide the lamb into 8 pieces and roll in the well-seasoned flour.

3. Heat a little oil in a 25cm (3.2-litre casserole) over a medium heat and sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate. Sauté the mushrooms, season well and set aside. Add the lamb to the casserole in batches, with a little more olive oil if necessary, and sauté until golden. Heat control is crucial here: the pan mustn’t burn, yet it must be hot enough to sauté the lamb. If the pan is too cool, the lamb will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough. Remove the lamb to a plate. Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions, carrots and parsnips until golden. Return the bacon and lamb to the casserole, together with the pearl barley. Season well, pour in the stock, add the thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 1-1 ¼ hours until meltingly tender; the cooking time will depend on the age of the lamb and how long it was sautéed for. Add the mushrooms about 30 minutes before the end.

4. Meanwhile, make the gremolata. Mix together the chopped herbs and garlic in a small bowl, add the lemon zest and season to taste with a little flaky salt.

5. Once the casserole is cooked, remove the thyme and season to taste. Leave the casserole to sit for 15-30 minutes to allow the pearl barley to swell. (If necessary, the casserole can be reheated later in the day, or the next day.) Serve bubbling hot, sprinkled with the gremolata.

Sausage & Haricot Bean stew

recipe by:Darina Allen

A gorgeous pot of bean stew, so warm and comforting for an autumn or winter supper. Use your favourite juicy heritage pork sausages

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 25 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 225g dried haricot, cannellini or flageolet beans (or 2 x 400g tins of cooked beans)

• bouquet garni

• 1 carrot, peeled

• 1 onion, peeled

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying

• 450g fennel and chilli pork sausages or best pork sausages

• 175g chopped onion

• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes, chopped

• 1 tbsp chopped rosemary

• flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar

• flat-leaf parsley or chervil, to serve

Method

1. Soak the beans overnight in a large pan with plenty of cold water. Next day, strain the beans, discarding the soaking liquid, and return them to the pan. Cover with fresh cold water and add the bouquet garni, carrot and onion. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes - 1 hour until the beans are soft, but not mushy. Just before the end of cooking, season with salt. Remove the bouquet garni and vegetables from the pan and discard. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.

2. Fry the sausages in a few drops of oil over a medium heat until nicely coloured and remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Heat the oil over a lowish heat in the same saucepan and cook the chopped onion for 7-8 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two before adding the chopped tomatoes and their juice, the cooked beans and the rosemary. Add the sausages and simmer for 5-6 minutes, adding some of the bean liquid if the sauce starts to dry out. Season well with salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes or until the sausages are heated through. The mixture should be juicy, but not swimming in liquid ­­­- if it starts to dry out, add more of the bean liquid.

4. To serve, scatter with plenty of parsley and accompany with a salad of organic leaves or crusty bread, if you wish.

Venison & Parsnip Stew

recipe by:Darina Allen

This stew becomes even more delicious if you cook it the day before and reheat it the next day – as well as enhancing the flavour, cooking the venison in advance ensures that it is meltingly tender.

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 60 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 30 mins

Course

 IEC-recipe-root

Ingredients

• 1.3kg shoulder of venison, trimmed and cut into 4cm cubes

• 50g plain flour, for dusting

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 225g piece of fatty salted pork or green streaky bacon, cut into 4cm cubes

• 2 large onions, chopped

• 1 large carrot, diced

• 2 large parsnips, diced

• 1 large garlic clove, crushed

• 450ml homemade beef stock

• bouquet garni

• 8-12 medium potatoes, peeled (optional)

• a squeeze of organic lemon juice

• flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Marinade

• 300-350ml gutsy red wine

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 3 tbsp brandy

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• bouquet garni

• Horseradish Sauce (optional)

• To Serve

• lots of chopped flat-leaf parsley

• green vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, calabrese or cabbage

Method

1. First marinate the meat.

2. Season the cubes of venison with salt and pepper. Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl, add the venison and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour, or better still overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas Mark 2.

4. Drain the meat, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Tip the flour onto a plate and season well. Turn the cubes of venison in the seasoned flour to coat on all sides.

5. Heat the oil in a 25cm (3.2 litre) casserole pan over a low heat, add the salted pork or bacon and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until it starts to release its fat. Increase the heat to medium and fry the salted pork or bacon until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

6. Add the venison to the casserole in batches and fry over a medium heat until nicely coloured on all sides. Avoid the temptation to increase the temperature or the fat will burn. Remove and set the batch aside while you colour the rest.

7. Toss the vegetables in the casserole, stir in the garlic and then add the pork or bacon and venison.

8. Pour off any surplus fat from the casserole and remove the meat and veg and set aside. Deglaze the casserole by pouring in the strained marinade. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the crusty bits on the base, add the pork or bacon and vegetables back in.

9. Pour over enough stock to cover the meat and vegetables and put in the bouquet garni. Bring the casserole to a gentle simmer on the hob, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 1 ½ hours.

10. Remove the casserole from the oven and cover the surface of the stew with the peeled whole medium potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the potatoes with a circle of greaseproof paper, and then the lid of the saucepan. Return the casserole to the oven and cook for a further 1 hour or until both the venison and potatoes are cooked.

11. Season to taste. As well as adding salt and pepper, I find it often needs a bit of acidity in the form of lemon juice or crab apple jelly, if available.

12. Scatter with lots of freshly chopped parsley and serve with a nice big dish of Brussels sprouts, calabrese or cabbage and some homemade horseradish sauce.

Seasonal Journal

Takeaway of the Year 2023

Belated congratulations to AndChips in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford which was voted Ireland’s Best Takeaway 2023 along with the accolade of ‘Champion Chip’. With sustainability front and foremost, Eunice Power only uses wild Irish fish including hake, haddock, ling, plaice, cod and whiting from Boatstrand in Waterford, as well as Wexford and Ballycotton in Cork. The potatoes used in the chips are from an 8km radius to her location.

Open Tuesday – Sunday.

Instagram  @andchips_­ 

The best New Year resolution...

Can you keep a few hens in your garden? No, I’m not joking, in fact I’m super serious…Four hens in a coop that can be moved around your lawn will provide you with more than enough beautiful fresh eggs for the average family, with a few extra to give to friends, all totally sustainable.

They will eat up and recycle all your food scraps, provide a supply of fresh eggs and produce chicken manure to fertilise your lawn or to add to compost to enhance the fertility of the soil in your vegetable garden patch…

Kids learn where their eggs come from and people of all ages love hens.

Old hens have a ton of flavour and can have an honourable end in a chicken pot pie…win-win all the way.

Contact Ger O’Leary in Skibbereen market for a selection of fine, healthy, free-range birds and lots of fancy fowl. They deliver around the south of Ireland. 

Tel: [phone].