Navarin of Lamb

(serves 4 – 6)

Ingredients

1 kg boned shoulder of lamb
4 talespoons butter
1 onion quartered
2 tablespoons flour
1 pinch sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
4 baby turnips
1 bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaf and thyme)
300 mls beef stock
4 tablespoons tomato paste
12 small white onions (pickling)
125 g streaky bacon
12 baby potatoes (substitute a few potatoes with 4 - 6 baby carrots)
125 g frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Method

Cut lamb into cubes and brown in the butter with a quartered onion. Blend in flour stirring over low heat until the butter is slightly thickened. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of sugar to give a deeper colour to the sauce and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the finely chopped garlic, baby turnips and the bouquet garni. Stir in the stock and tomato concentrate diluted with a little water. Simmer, covered in a slow oven (approx. 160°C) for an hour.

Ladle the pieces of lamb into a sieve, removing any “untidy” bits of meat or bone which may have separated during cooking. Allow the sauce to cool and, skim off fat from surface and strain into a clean casserole and replace the pieces of lamb into the stock.

Sauté the small onions until glazed and sauté the bacon. Peel the potatoes and add these and the peas to the stew. Bring to the boil and put back into the oven to cook at 160°C for thirty or forty minutes or until the lamb is tender and the vegetables are cooked. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

Suggested wines to complement this recipe

Bordeaux Red
Vidal Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon '06

Merlot
Selaks Premium Selection Hawkes Bay 2007