A Simple Lamb Stew

I had thought to serve up another slice of Wendell Berry, a thick one supported with statistics on education, households and such. It is written and out of a larger context it’s disheartening. Instead, I’m turning to a happy topic, a simple lamb and mushroom stew served over oven browned potatoes. For two you will need:

2 lamb shoulder or round chops;

2 large or 3 medium baking potatoes;

½ pound of portabella mushroom caps;

1 tablespoon of lard* or olive oil;

2 tablespoons of butter;

Cornstarch;

¾ of a cup each of chicken and beef broth;

1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic; and of course salt and pepper to taste.

*(Note: Lard is a marvelous fat for browning pork, beef and lamb. It can be heated to a much higher temperature than vegetable oils and therefore is a good fat for searing meats. Tallow does the same, but is not sold in stores. Both reinforce the meaty flavor of meat seared in them.)

To start: peal the potatoes and depending upon the size, cut each into four or six pieces. While doing that melt the two tablespoons of butter. Place the potatoes in a baking pan and coat with the butter, then season with salt and pepper and preheat the over to 400^o. 

Trim the lamb from the bone, trim excess fat and cut into stew sized pieces. Brown the lamb and bones in lard at medium high/high in lard until nicely browned. Drain the excess fat and deglaze the pan with a little water. Add the garlic, the mushrooms, chicken and beef stock. When it comes to a boil reduce the heat to medium/medium low and cover. Put the potatoes in the oven.

In the kitchen, timing is everything. The slowly braising lamb and the caramelized oven roasted potatoes should both be done in about an hour. Stir the lamb every fifteen or twenty minutes (add liquid as needed and always taste as you go). Turn the potatoes after around thirty-five minutes. While everything cooks, enjoy a cook’s glass of wine and pleasant conversation with whoever will be gathered at your table.

To finish: dissolve two heaping tablespoons of corn starch into one ½ cup of water and slowly add it to the stew to thicken it. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and garlic. Serve over the oven browned potatoes with a side vegetable or a salad.

I offer this recipe with the understanding that lamb is off the menu for the majority of Americans who somehow find its flavor objectionable. That’s too bad. It’s a beautiful meat that lends to grilling, roasts and stews and holds its own to a variety of complementary flavors. In this recipe it’s simply mushroom and garlic. But other recipes can include tarragon, mint, curry, or fennel. And that’s just the beginning.

You certainly won’t find lamb on the menu in a nationally franchised restaurant. Yet, you might find it served up in cozy neighborhood restaurant or in a fancy downtown destination place. In the later, my simple stew might be described as “braised lamb and mushrooms served over a bed of caramelized root vegetables.” There, the vegetable mix might include parsnips, carrots, rutabaga and onions with the potatoes. It would carry a fancy price. My guess would be somewhere between $22 and $28, maybe more. Cooked at home the cost is less than $3 a plate. But that’s beside the point.

What we are willing to pay something depends somewhat on its quality, but more upon the honor we ascribe to the person producing it. The head chef in the fancy restaurant is held in high esteem, the manager at franchised fast food outlet less so.

In this regard the globalized industrial economy is horribly dehumanizing. We sacrifice quality at the altar of price—think of the feedlot here or the poorly made imported shoes. In doing so, to varying degrees, we sacrifice the fundamental dignity of work and our gratitude to those who serve our needs.