Fact of the day – I used to be an Irish dancer. Yep, the sparkly dress-wearing, curly wig-donning, hard shoe-tapping kind of dancer. It made my heart so happy to learn the steps to a new jig or reel, gliding across the room as I shuffled my feet in time to the music. Being half Irish, I grew up immersed in the Celtic culture, the lyrical lilt of the Irish accent never far away. Mincemeat and potatoes were a standard in our household, a meal I gladly gobbled up after a particularly arduous dance lesson. As an ode to my Celtic roots, I thought I’d post an Irish-themed recipe. To be sure, to be sure, nothing says Irish dinner more so than a lamb stew, and this dish, my friends, warms the cockles like no other.

Enjoy xx

Low Salicylate Irish Lamb Stew

Adapted from The English Kitchen

Serves 4

Equipment

• Peeler
• Cutting board and knife
• Saucepans
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Oven dish
• Storage container

Ingredients

450 grams lamb stewing meat (cut into cubes)

2 Tbsp sunflower oil

2 carrots (peeled and chopped)*

2 celery sticks (peeled and chopped)

1/4 cup spring onion

Pinch salt

2 Tbsp chives (for garnishing)

600 ml homemade chicken stock

450 grams white potatoes (peeled and sliced into wedges)

20 grams unsalted butter

Crusty bread (for serving)

Method

1.) Preheat fan-forced oven to 165 degrees celsius

2.) Heat a medium saucepan, warm half of the oil over medium heat. Once oil has heated, add lamb and cook until browned. When ready, remove lamb along with the juices from saucepan and set aside.

3.) Add the carrots, celery, spring onion and the remaining oil to the saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until they have just started to soften (about 10 minutes).

4.) Once vegetables have softened, pour them into the ovenproof casserole dish. Next stir in the lamb and any juices as well as the chives. Season with salt.

5.) Pour in the homemade chicken stock.

6.) Layer potatoes on top of the lamb and vegetable mix, pushing them down a bit into the stock. Dot with butter.

7.) Put lid on casserole dish and bake in oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender and all of the vegetables are cooked. Uncover the casserole for the last 15 minutes so that the potatoes can brown a little.

8.) When ready, remove dish from oven and spoon casserole into bowls to serve. Sprinkle with chives and serve with some crusty bread.

*Carrots are listed in the RPAH handbook as moderate in salicylates, something to be mindful of if you’re very sensitive or looking to limit your chemical load. Kęszycka et al. 2017 however list carrot as low, so I’ve included them here. Just be mindful when trying the recipe for the first time.