Lamb Stew

By oppro2000

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 lb lamb stewing meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, medium diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, medium diced
• 1/2 cup wine (can use white or red, depending on what you have around, see Notes)
• 2 cups beef stock (can also use chicken or turkey)
• 1 26.45oz (750g) Pomi brand strained tomatoes
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (approx. 1 very large carrot)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp smoked Hungarian paprika
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 leek, quartered, chopped, throughly washed and dried

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place flour on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Toss lamb in flour. Heat olive oil in a 6-qt, lidded saute pan over medium high heat. Add lamb and sear for 3 minutes on each side, until browned but not burnt. Remove lamb and set aside on a clean plate.

2. Turn heat to medium and add onion to pan, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they are begin to soften. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

3. Add celery and cook, stirring to prevent any sticking or burning, cook for 4-5 minutes. Deglaze the pan (see Notes) by adding the wine and scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Be careful of scraping any burnt bits as they will add a bitter taste to the stew. Reintroduce the browned lamb.

4. Add stock, tomatoes and sprig of rosemary and stir. Almost cover pan with a slightly ajar lid and simmer the stew gently for 1 hour.

4. Add the carrot, sweet potato, paprikas and cayenne pepper (begin with 1/8 tsp and re-taste). Taste and season with salt and pepper and slightly more cayenne if wanted. Continue to simmer with lid ajar for another 35-40 minutes, or until the carrots and the potatoes and almost fork tender. Add leeks and cook for 30 minutes on low-medium heat, until leeks are tender and sweet potatoes are cooked through.