Irish Stew

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 lblamb loin chops, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 1/2 cupswhole wheat berries, soaked overnight in cold water, then drained
• 24shallots, peeled and left whole
• 4 largecarrots
• 2turnips
• 1celeriac
• 12 ozcharlotte potatoes
• 1/2 cupolive oil, used in stages for browning
• 2/3 cupwhite wine
• 2 cupschicken stock
• 4 sprigsfresh thyme
• 4 sprigsfresh oregano
• 1 tspsuperfine sugar
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1

   The night before, soak the wheat berries in cold water. Drain and rinse before using.

2. 2

   Put the drained wheat in a pan with plenty of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour until tender, then drain.

3. 3

   While the wheat simmers, heat the oven to 350°F. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat and brown the lamb in batches, about 4 minutes a batch, moving it to a bowl.

4. 4

   Turn the heat to medium, add another 1 tbsp of oil and cook the shallots for about 4 minutes until caramelized, then add them to the lamb. Brown the carrots, turnips, celeriac and potatoes the same way, in batches.

5. 5

   Put the white wine, sugar, thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of salt and a generous grind of pepper in the empty pan and boil over high heat for 3 minutes.

6. 6

   Return the lamb, vegetables and cooked wheat to the pan and pour in the stock. Cover, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then move the pan to the oven for 1½ hours, until the lamb is tender enough to pull apart.

7. 7

   If there is more liquid than you like, take the lid off and reduce it on the stove for a few minutes. Serve from the pan.

Nutrition per serving