Irish Lamb Stew

When I was about sixteen, my dad and I drove up the Mendocino Coast of California for a father-daughter weekend. One night we were on the road after dark, and it was so foggy that we couldn't see the pavement in front of us. After a near miss with a deer and with a couple of grumbling stomachs, we stopped in the little town of Elk to wait out the fog. The town was dead quiet, save for a bustling little Irish pub with an open kitchen run by a team of frenzied Irish women who cooked wonderful food. I had an Irish stew garnished with spearmint, and though it was nearly fifteen year ago, I remember being delighted by the way the torn mint leaves sparkled against the earthy braised lamb. So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, and in honor of those Irish ladies working so hard in that kitchen in Elk, I give you my version of a classic Irish stew, in the very appropriate colors of green, white and orange.

Note: In the grand Irish tradition of my ancestors -feeding a lot of people on little food - I like a lot of broth in my stew. I like the broth to be fairly thin, rather than thickened with flour like a gravy, because it's better for dipping a delicious pain au levain or country sourdough bread. If you prefer less broth, feel free to omit up to 4 cups of the chicken stock from this recipe, and adjust the salt and other seasonings accordingly. Just make sure there's enough liquid to cover the potatoes. You should still be able to serve 5-6 people.

For approximately 5-6 servings, you will need:

• 2 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder chops (Mine were about 3/4 of an inch thick - use thicker chops if you can find them.)
• 1 pint white boiling (pearl) onions, peeled and left whole (about 12 onions, 1 inch in diameter)or 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced. (Pearl onions are notoriously difficult to peel, so blanche first by dropping in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then running under cool water to stop the cooking. Trim off the root ends and the onions will pop right out of their papery skins.)
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 large ribs of celery, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
• 1 can Guinness Stout, 14.9 ounces
• 8 cups homemade chicken stock or Swanson's Broth
• 10-12 small white potatoes, about 2 1/2 inches long, rinsed and scrubbed
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 large bay leaf
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• Lots of chopped parsley and fresh mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Another note:

If you have a large enameled cast iron dutch oven or wide, deep casserole pot with a lid, you can sear the meat and cook the stew in the same pan. If, like me, you do not, use a saute pan or other wide, shallow pan to brown the meat, then switch to a stock pot for cooking the stew.

Pat the lamb dry with a paper towel and lightly salt on both sides. In a wide saute pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil to medium high until the oil shimmers.  Add the chops in batches, without crowding the pan, and quickly brown until you have good, dark color on the meat, about 2 minutes a side. You may need to add more olive oil for later batches. Put the browned chops in the separate pot you will be cooking the stew in.

Add more olive oil to the saute pan and quickly cook the onions, carrots, and celery until they soften a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Make sure the vegetables don't burn or get too dark. Now add the can of Guinness to deglaze and release all the delicious lamb drippings stuck to the bottom of the pan. Use a wooden scraper to help dissolve the drippings. Pour the vegetable and Guinness mixture over the meat and put the stock pot over high heat. Immediately add the chicken broth, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, pepper, potatoes, and barley. Stir together, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer over low heat for two hours, until the meat falls off the bone.

Fish out the bay leaf and discard. Remove the meat from the pot (tongs are great for this) and separate from the bones. Return the de-boned lamb to the pot, stir, and taste. Adjust the salt and pepper.

Right before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Ladle into big bowls, garnish with mint leaves, and serve with thick slices of a really good, hearty sourdough.