Irish stew

Irish stew

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

How are you today? I hope you’ve enjoyed your week since I last wrote here.

I’ve been busy with work and trying to cope with all the pollen in the air. Everywhere I look, I see yellow wattle flowers. I’ve been sneezing and coughing, and my throat has felt irritated.

I’ve also been listening to audiobooks in my spare time, especially when out walking. I’ve been listening to some J. K. Rowling and Lee Child books. I read the hard copy Harry Potter books soon after they were released. Listening to them read by Stephen Fry has been enjoyable. Lee Child’s series about Jack Reacher has provided some escapist relief.

The other week I watched the movie adaptation of The Guns of Navarone, written by Alistair MacLean. I downloaded the audiobook and listened to it to understand how the movie adaptation varied from the book. The book and movie are very different. I prefer the book.

Tonight, I’m cooking an Irish stew. I’m not sure if there is an authentic approach to an Irish stew. As far as I know, it needs root vegetables and lamb or mutton. It’s an excellent way to avoid wasting some vegetables in the refrigerator.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Skillet
  • Pressure cooker
  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • Lamb forequarter chops
  • Potato
  • Carrot
  • Onion
  • Celery
  • Daikon
  • Parsley
  • Spring onions
  • Fennel
  • Wombok
  • Plain flour
  • Butter
  • Worcestershire sauce[1-3]
  • Vegetable stock
  • Red wine

Instructions

Stew

  1. Caramelise the lamb in a hot skillet and set aside while cutting the vegetables.
  2. Cut the potato, carrot, onion, celery, daikon, fennel, and Wombok into chunks. Tear apart the parsley and spring onions.
  3. Pour the vegetable stock, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce into the pressure cooker.
  4. Add the vegetables and then the lamb.
  5. Cook under pressure for 45 minutes.
  6. Strain the solids with a colander and pour the eluted cooking liquor into a jug.
  7. Make a roux with the flour and butter. Slowly add the cooking liquor and make gravy.
  8. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to your liking.

Plating up

  1. Spoon into a large bowl some of the meat and vegetables.
  2. Ladle over the meat and vegetables the gravy.
  3. Thanks to the Lord for the food, wages to buy food, and the skills to cook the food.
  4. Eat with a fork and spoon.

Thoughts on the meal

I wasn’t quite sure what to cook today. When I got to the supermarket and saw the lamb forequarter chops, the idea of a stew started to form in my mind.

At one stage, I considered using a stick blender, processing the vegetables, and making soup. Having some chunky appealed more to me tonight.

This is a functional meal; it was filling and tasted good.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like Irish stew?
  • What books have you recently read/listened to?
  • If a movie is made from a book, do you usually prefer the movie or the book?

Photographs

This is a gallery of pictures.

Irish stew
Irish stew
Irish stew
Irish stew

This photo is my lunch. I mixed some celery, spring onions, tomato, and red onion with cheese and had it with corn chips.

Corn chips with melted cheese and vegetables

References

1.         Murphy, K.J., Worcestershire sauce and the kidney. Med J Aust, 1971. 1(21): p. 1119-21.

2.         Murphy, K.J., Bilateral renal calculi and aminoaciduria after excessive intake of Worcestershire sauce.Lancet, 1967. 2(7512): p. 401-3.

3.         Holmes, G., Worcestershire sauce and the kidneys. Br Med J, 1971. 3(5768): p. 252.