Tag: stew

Hanan’s Lamb & Chickpea Stew


2 red onions, fine dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
800g lamb cut into large chunks
1.5 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp hot paprika
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
1-1/2 cans chopped tomatoes
500ml chicken stock, hot
600g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
fresh coriander, chopped

Fry off the onions for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for a further 2 minutes, then set aside.

Fry off the lamb chunks for 5-6 minutes until browned. Add the cumin and paprikas and fry for a few minutes. Add the onion & garlic back to the pan, along with the lemon zest, honey, tomatoes, stock and chickpeas.

Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lamb is tender. Stir through the coriander and serve with couscous. Finish with chopped coriander.

    Beef Stew – Quick & Slow

    I’ve bought a slow cooker, to prep meals for when we all come home at night.  First day I made the fastest slow cooked meal ever – before going to work I loaded the cooker in about 5 mins and turned it on. Got back at 6 to a stew all ready to eat. Yessss!

    1lb lean beef
    1 large Onion , diced
    2 large carrots, diced
    1 parsnip, diced
    2 cloves garlic, sliced
    1 can plum tomatoes
    1 can equiv of water

    seasoning.

    Set on low for 8 hrs – might need to thicken the sauce a spot.

    Beef Goulash / Gulyas – Hungarian

    serves 4-ish

    1 kg stewing beef in 1″ cubes
    4 big/spanish onions, chopped
    4-6 smoked streaky bacon slices- diced, or a few lardons.
    3-4 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika
    salt, pepper to taste
    1 green pepper, diced
    1 tomato
    1/2 lemon, juiced
    1 tsp sugar
    oil to fry beef with

    Seal the beef a few cubes at a time to get some colour on it without drying it out. keep the beef in a bowl until ready to add it back in. (a spot of water to deglaze the pan in between batches works, save the water with the beef.

    Fry off the bacon/lardons then add the onion till the onions are soft. Take off the heat for a couple of minutes and add the paprika, and browned beef + deglaze. Mix it all up.

    Add enough water to cover the meat (not too much – the consistency you want the sauce) Add the diced green pepper, the whole tomato (it melts, along with the onions and pepper – no point dicing).  Add the salt & pepper too – but don’t over do it, you can season it fully at the end.

    Simmer covered on very low heat for about 2-3 hours. Check, every now and then that it’s not getting too dry or sticking on the bottom. Once its cooked up, add some lemon juice for a spot of tang, salt/pepper to taste and a teaspoon of sugar if needed.

    You can cook dumplings on the top if you like. Serve with mash, a dollop of sour cream, and a chopped green herb of your choice.

    Irish Stew (Lamb)

    I never tried this until meeting Deird & Denise. Denise used to cook a bucket of this at a time. Denise likes this cooked down, so that the potatoes are mushed in to the juices. I like it a little less cooked, with a thin ‘gravy’ and firmish potatoes. To get it right, stew the lamb for an hour or so before the veg goes in.

    1/2 Leg of lamb

    2lb potatoes

    1lb carrots

    a handful of rosemary

    Cut the meat from the bone, and dice.  brown the meat a little in a big pan

    Add water to cover, and simmer gently for an hour

    Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot

    cook till the potatoes are cooked, and falling apart.

    salt, to taste