Stewing Up Some Lamb The Italian Way

When stewing up some lamb the Italian way, I highly recommend using an Italian wine you actually would drink. Don’t go buying cheap stuff because you plan to braise the lamb for a few hours. Remember, garbage in garbage out. Oh, don’t forget to use a little Italian parsley too.

Ingredients 

• 2 lbs/1kg Lamb stew meat, cubed

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 cup red wine (Barolo, Montepulciano, or Chianti)

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 3 cups lamb or beef stock

• 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

• 2 large carrots, sliced

• 2 stalks celery, sliced

• A good handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped

• salt & pepper

• grated Parmesan cheese for serving

• 1 lb pasta of your choice

Instructions

1. Season the lamb with salt & pepper and coat with the flour.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the lamb and brown on all sides (I did this in two batches so not to crowd the pan).

3. Remove from the pan and set aside.

4. Add the onions to the same pan and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).

5. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

6. Add the wine and raise the heat to medium high heat. Cook the wine until it reduces in half.

7. You can also scrape up and stir in anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

8. Stir in the tomato paste.

9. Return the lamb to the pan. Stir in the vegetables, tomatoes and stock.

10. Add the parsley and salt & pepper to taste.

11. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 1½ hours.

12. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook according to the package instructions.

13. Serve the stew on top of the pasta & sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

     

Recipe source: Erren’s Kitchen

Photo source: Italian Food Forever