Irish Stew

May 23, 2008

Potatoes and the Irish seem synonymous and yet the potato was unknown in Ireland till introduced there by Sir Walter Raleigh in the16th century and warmly embraced. It served as good backup to the main food, oats, in years when the grain crops were poor.

But potato crops could fail, too, and when blight caused the great potato famine between 1845 and 1849 nearly two million Irish people died of starvation and fever. A further million left Ireland altogether. Many of them sought better times in Australia and New Zealand and numerous of my own family who were retired Irish soldiers arrived in Auckland as Fencibles in 1849.

Of course they brought with them their own cooking traditions, including Irish potato cakes, colcannon and that lovely winter’s dish, Irish stew.

Some will say Irish stew should be made only from white vegetables and mutton or lamb. I wouldn’t think there was a great deal of meat in some of those those early Irish stews, either. However, I like to add in some carrot and celery for a bit of extra flavour.

It’s also quite a good idea to have a mix of floury potatoes and waxy ones. The floury ones will help thicken the gravy while the waxy sort will hold their shape.

Irish Stew

1kg lamb, leg or shoulder, well trimmed and cut into chunks
3 medium onions, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunk rings
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups good stock
salt and freshly ground black and white peppers
700g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

Preheat oven to 180C.

Brown the meat in a little oil. Lower the heat, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes.

Place in a casserole dish and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook for two hours or until the meat is tender. Thicken the gravy if required with flour mixed in a little water and cook for a further five minutes, adjusting the seasoning as necessary.

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