50 mins
Lamb Navarin
Recipe by Graham
Lamb Navarin is a perfect example of how, using slow cooking over a long period of time, a cheaper cut of meat becomes beautifully tender and wonderfully full flavoured. In this recipe, I use slices of neck on the bone, as the bone imparts a rich flavour during cooking. It also helps reduce shrinkage in the meat. Get your butcher to cut the lamb for you, asking for 2½lb (1.2 kilo) of trimmed neck on the bone.
Lamb Meatloaf 
Lancashire Potato Cakes Ingredients for Lamb Navarin
Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
How to Cook Lamb Navarin
- Check that the lamb is trimmed of excess fat and cut it into 1½"-2" (4-5cm) pieces. Melt the duck fat in a large flameproof casserole and colour the pieces of lamb over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the wine to the boil and allow to bubble for 30 seconds. This removes most of the alcohol and tannins, while retaining its freshness and character.
- Tie together the bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme sprigs, parsley sprigs and rosemary sprig) and roughly chop the tomatoes. Season the lamb with the coarse sea salt, then add the wine, the bouquet garni, chopped tomatoes and whole peppercorns (the peppercorns are added whole at the start, as they will slowly release their aromatic flavour through the long cooking).
- Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the cold water to cover the lamb and bring just to the boil, then skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Put the lid on, place the casserole in a preheated very low oven (Mk ½ - 200ºF - 110ºC) and cook for 1½ hours.
- Meanwhile, peel and cut each onion into 6 wedges, keeping the base intact. Peel and cut the carrot in half lengthways and slice into 2" (5cm) lengths. Cut the celery into similar lengths. Peel and roughly chop the parsnips. Peel the garlic.
- Remove the casserole after 1½ hours, add the vegetables and garlic and bring back to the boil on the hob. Replace the lid and return to the oven for a further 1 hour until the vegetables are cooked and the lamb is very tender. Taste and correct the seasoning. Serve straight from the casserole.
- Lamb Navarin is a very straightforward dish to prepare and provides a nourishing meal that the whole family will enjoy. In fact Lamb Navarin can be cooked up to 2 days in advance and gently reheated to serve. You can also vary the recipe using lamb shoulder steaks on the bone or lamb shanks if desired.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
When you are cooking in a low oven, it is important to bring the cooking liquor to the boil before the dish goes in the oven, otherwise it will take a long time to come up to temperature. With your oven set at 200ºF - 110ºC, the meat will reach a temperature of around 170ºF - 85ºC.. This is sufficient to break down the fibrous tissues, making the lamb perfectly tender. However, the stock must not boil whilst in the oven. If it did it would become cloudy, the meat would shrink and toughen, and the vegetables would disintegrate.
Reviews of Lamb Navarin
| September 19 2014 Made it tonight and added mushrooms after thickening of the sauce. I also added 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard in with the tomato paste. My hubby hates stew type meals but he loved this! josie (5 reviews) |
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