| Diana Henry's Irish Stew |
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Everyone has a view about Irish stew – whether you put carrots in, whether you use just parsley or add thyme too. This is Diana Henry's recipe from her book Roast Figs Sugar Snow about food in colder climates. A northerner, this is her version of a childhood favourite.
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Serves 6
Ingredients
1.4kg (3lb 4oz) lamb shanks or middle neck of lamb
Handful of parsley stalks
3 large onions, peeled
500g (1lb 2oz) carrots, peeled
6 black peppercorns
3 very large floury potatoes, peeled
Salt and pepper
Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to serve
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Directions
 1. Put the lamb in a large suacepan with the parsley stalks, 1 onion (halved), 1 large carrot (halved) and the peppercorns. Cover with water, bring to the boil and skim. Turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and cook the lamb over a very gentle heat until it is completely tender and almost falling off the bone. It should take about 1-1 and a 1/4 hours.
2. Remove the lamb from the stock and strain the stock. Cut the remaining carrots into small chunks, the potatoes into big chunks and the remaining onions into half-moon shaped slices. Put these into a clean saucepan, add the stock and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the potatoes have partly fallen apart, stirring from time to time. You need them to fall apart a little in order to thicken the stew.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, remove all the lamb from the bones and cut it into large, irregular chunks. Add the meat to the stew along with the thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Heat through and check the seasoning. Scatter with parsley and serve.
From Diana Henry's book Roast Figs Sugar Snow.
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