Lamb Stew (From Leftover Leg of Lamb)

Since we had a ton of leftover lamb, I decided to use the bone to make Lamb Stew. My husband said it was "the best lamb I had ever made". I looked at several recipes, and found that a lot of them took 12 hours, or called for ingredients I didn't have. So I just went ahead and started.

I covered the leg of lamb with water, and the grease I kept from the leftover leg of lamb. I debated whether adding the fat that was on the top and opted out. I figured it would have enough fat in it to make it good, and it wouldn't be so greasy.

I ended up cooking the lamb until the meat was starting to fall off the bone, and then, I started cutting up vegetables. I added a onion, a bag of carrots, and potatoes. I had some leftover mushrooms from a pizza I had made, and rosemary from the leftover lamb. So I threw that in, and let it simmer for another hour. After that, I started tasting it and added salt as needed. Since I had added too much water, I decided to make some white rice to stir with it. Some of the recipes had called ot put rice in the stew, but I don't like the texture of rice after it has stayed in soup.

It ended up really good. Here is the recipe I used.

Easy Lamb Stew

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups cubed lamb
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 medium carrots, sliced
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 8 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 5 cups stock (I used 3 cups stock made with the bone & 2 cups vegetable stock)
• 1 cup good red wine (I used red zin)
• 1 teaspoon good quality dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large pan or stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add cubed lamb and brown for about 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic and continue cooking until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes more. Add carrots, potatoes and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes more. (This is a great way to layer the flavors and season the lamb and veggies before adding the stock)

Add the stock, red wine, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

Bring to a slow boil and then reduce heat immediately and simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Very simple, very basic and yet the flavor of this is rich and intense. Don’t forget to serve it with a crusty loaf of bread and either a glass of red or a hearty brew.

And, whatever you do, try and keep from dropping anything on the floor.