Lamb or beef stew with bacon & herbs

Ingredients
175g green streaky bacon
900g should of lamb chops not less than 2.5cm in thickness, or stewing beef from the shin
seasoned white flour, preferably unbleached
a little butter or oil for sautéing
225g onions
175g carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
375ml approx. lamb or beef stock or water
4-6 ‘old’ potatoes (optional)
sprig of thyme
freshly chopped parsley

Method
Cut the rind off the bacon and cut into approx. 1cm cubes. Cut the meat into large cubes and roll in flour well-seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sauté the bacon until crisp, remove and put in a casserole.
Add the meat to the pan and sauté until golden then add to the bacon in the casserole. Heat control is crucial here, the pan mustn’t burn yet it must be hot enough to sauté the meat. If it is cool the meat will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough.
Then quickly sauté the onions and carrots, adding a little butter if necessary, and put them into the casserole.
Degrease the sauté pan and deglaze with the stock, bring to the boil and pour over the meat. Cover the top of the stew with peeled potatoes (if using) and season well.
Add a sprig of thyme and bring to simmering point on top of the stove, cover the pot and then put into the oven for 45-60 minutes, 180°C/gas mark 4.
Cooking time depends on how long the meat was sautéed for.
When the casserole is just cooked, strain off the cooking liquid, degrease (skim off surface fat with a spoon) and return degreased liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil.
Add back in the meat, carrots, onions and potatoes, bring back to the boil.
The stew is very good served at this point. Serve bubbling hot sprinkled with chopped parsley.
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