Authentic Irish Stew

I am calling this authentic in part because I am originally from Dublin and this is the recipe I have used for about 30 years. But also because I see so many recipes for Irish Stew that call for lamb stock. celery, beef (?), herbs and various other ingredients which are not, in my opinion, the original and best Irish stew. 

All you need to use for this dish is lamb, potatoes, onion, carrots and simple water. The dish is meant to be simple and you get all the flavour from the lamb, onions and carrots. It is meant to be a broth - it doesn't need thickeners, or added vegetables. Although plenty of salt and pepper is always lovely. And a side order of soda bread just tops it off. Authentic, proper, original Irish Stew, in all its comforting home cooked glory!

Ingredients:                (serves 2-3)

2 large lamb rump steaks (or neck fillet)
2 onions
3 potatoes
3 carrots
salt & pepper
parsley to serve.

Method:

Trim any excess fat off the lamb and cut into cubes. Peel the carrots and cut into 1 inch slices. Slice the onions and potatoes.

In a casserole dish put half of the carrots and onions, then half of the lamb, followed by half of the potato slices. Season with salt & black pepper. Then repeat with another layer ending with the potatoes and more salt & pepper. Add enough water to just barely cover the top layer of potatoes and put onto the gas hob to bring to the boil. As soon as its boils, turn the heat down to low and leave with the lid mostly on (leave  a little gap) for about an hour and a half.

Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with parsley and with a few slices of soda bread. Simple and comforting.

Leftover Roast Chicken & Gravy Pie

Now if you are an avid reader of this blog you may start to notice that I roast a fair number of chickens. My main reason? I love roast chicken, of course. Also, I love the fact that the leftovers of a roast chicken brings me all sorts of goodies. This was one of those. There was so much chicken left, including a whole breast and a leg - soup only needs the bits stripped off the bones - so I reserved all that juicy cooked meat. I now had cooked chicken and a large jug of leftover gravy (I always make too much).

The simplest thing to do was make a chicken pie. The great thing was that I didn't have to make a sauce - I had the gravy. And I didn't need to add any herbs as the gravy already had them in it. Here's all I had to do.

Ingredients:

leftover chicken
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
handful green beans, chopped
leftover gravy
1 x pack readymade shortcrust pastry
1 egg (for egg wash)

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. Fry the onion and carrot in the oil on a medium heat for about 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the onion beginning to brown. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and gravy and mix well. Pour into a pie dish.

Roll out the pastry (I didn't even do that as I had bought ready rolled!) and cover the pie. Crimp the sides, use cut off pastry to make leaf shapes for the top and generously brush with whisked egg.

Pop in the oven for about 25 minutes when the pie is golden. Serve with mashed potatoes or chips and peas. Easy peasey!