With Christmas rapidly approaching, there are so many opportunities to snack on unhealthy treats! While I do believe we should allow ourselves to indulge every now and again, I personally find I feel sluggish, tired and upset when I eat unhealthy. Over the years I’ve learned I fair best when I support my body with healthy and nutritious foods and say no to tempting treats or glutinous meals. I wanted to share a staple recipe I like to make often – Lamb Stew. It’s the perfect comfort food for this time of the year and it’s so delicious! And there are always lots of leftovers, meaning I’m not tempted to dine out for lunch or dinner with this tasty meal in the fridge! Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!
Ingredients
- 2-lb lamb shoulder, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or other solid fat
- 2 medium red onions, each one cut through the base into 8 wedges
- 4 large cloves garlic, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 3 large stalks celery, cut into ½-inch chunks
- 2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 long sprigs thyme
- 3 cups rich bone broth
- 3 small/medium (1 lb) turnips, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 medium celeriac, riced thickly to yield 2 cups
- ¼ packed cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Because lamb is a fatty meat it requires no fat for browning.
- Heat a large heavy based lidded casserole (Dutch oven). Add the lamb in small batches and brown the pieces all over, putting aside in a medium sized bowl as you go.
- Once the meat is browned and removed, add the tablespoon of fat to the casserole, together with the onion wedges, garlic, celery and carrots and cook, stirring from time to time, on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until slightly singed. If at any point your pan is looking overly brown and parched, a tablespoon of water will help release the sediment, so quickly scrape it up and incorporate into the vegetables before the moisture has evaporated. This adds extra flavour!
- Now pour in the broth, throw in the thyme, cover with a lid and place in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and add the turnips. Replace the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes. Take the stew out of the oven again and add the riced celeriac. Put it back into the oven (again, with the lid on) and cook for a final 16-18 minutes or until the celeriac is slightly softened, with just a little bite.
- Discard the now leafless thyme stalks, ladle the stew into large bowls and scatter parsley over the top.
- Serve with collard greens, sautéed in coconut oil (or other solid fat) and extra slices of garlic if you like.