This beautiful hearty dish takes over 48 hours to make but it is well worth it! When you let the flavors of this stew concentrate through long periods of marinating the results are incredible. Better than you can get at any restaurant.
For my vegetables this time I used carrots, tomatoes and potatoes. The nice thing about this recipe is that these 3 ingredients [carrots, tomatoes and potatoes] are interchangeable for whatever your palate is feeling. You can add more vegetables or different ones altogether. Just try to keep your ratio of liquid v. vegetables and you should be fine.
Ingredients:
- 1 lamb leg (boneless)
- 2 tbsps of all purpose flour
- 2 tbsps of minced parsley stems
- 2 tbsps of minced cilantro stems
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 bottle of dry red wine
- 2 – 4 cups of beef stock
- 1 cup of chopped carrots
- 1 cup of heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cups of chopped potatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Trim the excess fat off the lamb leg and cut the leg into small pieces. Coat the meat with olive oil then sprinkle some flour on it and season with salt and pepper. You want to use just enough flour so that the meat is lightly coated. I used about 2 tbsps.
Chop equal parts parsley and cilantro stems and mix it into the meat. About 1 or 2 tbsp(s) of each. Let the meat rest for 2 hours.
Once the meat has marinated, bring a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Make sure that the meat is at room temperature. So in case you left it marinating in the fridge take it out about 20 minutes before you begin this part. Once the skillet is hot add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and spread. Then place the meat in the skillet to sear it.
Cook the lamb meat for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to add a good sear all around. Add 1/2 of the bottle of wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the wine for about 3-5 minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. Then set the pan aside and let it cool. Once it has cooled down, cover it and place it in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
After marinating the lamb in wine, transfer it to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add the rest of the wine plus the beef stock. This is where you want to add the potatoes, herbs and other vegetables as well. Then bring the heat down to a rolling simmer and cook for 4 hours. While it cooks, periodically remove any impurities that rise to the top of the stew.
After cooking for 4 hours let the stew cool down, then place it back in the fridge for another 12-24 hours. After this, the stew is ready to serve!
When getting ready to serve the stew pull it out of the fridge and bring it up to a simmer to warm it up. The stew should be pretty thick at this point, if it’s too thick add some more beef stock or water to get it to the right consistency.
Tip: At this point I like to add shredded cheese. Adding cheese thickens the stew (so you may need more stock) but it also adds great flavor. I use gruyere because I love how it tastes with the lamb but you should explore with your favorite cheeses. I bet manchego or pecorino would be nice as well. The amount of cheese you should add depends on your taste and the amount of servings you are warming up. I recommend adding little by little so you can control both the flavor and thickness of the stew.