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Title: Hearty Winter Stew > English Mutton
Categories: British Lamb Stew Vegetable
Yield: 1 Servings
| 1 1/4 | kg | Leg of mutton or older lamb |
| 1 1/4 | kg | Onions |
| 1/4 | kg | Carrots |
| 1/4 | kg | Turnips |
| 1/2 | kg | (dry weight) Haricot beans |
| 3/4 | kg | Potatoes - old or new |
| 1/2 | Bottle of red wine | |
| 3/4 | Ltr good stock or made up | |
| From stock cubes/paste | ||
| Butter for frying off the | ||
| Onions and meat | ||
| Thyme | ||
| Bay leaf | ||
| Optional: | ||
| Red beans mixed with the | ||
| Haricot beans | ||
| Fennel for finishing or | ||
| Aniseed flavoured liquor |
Use mutton or older lamb - it is important that the meat has got past the acidic, fresh hay smelling stage of growth. If the animal is/was too immature the meat has very little to contribute to flavour of stews - this is why modern stews often end up grey and tasteless.
METHOD - Soak the beans overnight in cold water ( you can add a two teaspoons full of bicarbonate of soda or baking powder to the water if you wish, this will soften the beans quicker) Cut the meat into bite size lumps Do the same with the peeled carrots and turnips Peel the potatoes and keep them in cold water - a chefs tip - float a slice of bread on top of the water- it will make sure no potatoes pop up and go black in the air. Peel the onions and cut into big chunks - another chefs tip - to peel onions easily put them into hot water for about one minute, it softens the brown skins!
Cooking & serving
Fry off the onions to obtain colour. Add the meat and fry off ( You can dust the meat with flour if you wish to have a modern floury stew but I suggest not - wait to the end then try another chefs sleight of hand) Add the carrots and turnips Add stock and red wine Add the haricot beans - if you cannot get haricots substitute with lima Add the Thyme and bay leaves Cook under a lid for about 1 1/2 hours, skim as soon as it boils then reduce the heat to rolling over. Add potatoes Continue to cook for a further 1/2 hour Adjust seasoning and finish for the last ten minutes with sliced fennel added - or a splash of aniseed flavoured liquour ( Ricard for example)
For thickening - a chefs sleight of hand. Remove a few potatoes and beans, say two good ladles full, and mash these in a mincer or squashed under a saucepan. Add to the mash 30 grammes of butter and 20 grammes of flour. Beat it hard. Add back to the stew and reboil. Allow to rest for a few minutes then serve. This thickening method allows you to keep the stew remains in a freezer and also regenerate the dish without having the thickening break down.
England has had a winter that I remember from childhood - snow, ice and cutting winds. It all makes for good cooking. I have a recipe which is based upon an eighteenth-century collection found in a farmers cottage in Somerset (SE England) I have added haricot beans to extend the stew and also bring it more in keeping with modern tastes but still have the aura of the time.