Spring Lamb Stew

Now I know summer is not the season for stew, but with all the rubbish rain recently, we all needed a bowl of something warm and comforting. This gives just that, without the rich autumnal punch of my Classic Beef Stew.

You will need:

300g approx of cubed lamb neck fillet  (into bitesize pieces), seasoned.
handful of baby new potatoes (into bitesize pieces)
2 handfuls of chanternay carrots(or normal will do) (into bitesize pieces)
a leek trimmed, halfed and sliced thinly ( slice in half and run under the tap with root end pointing upwards to remove any trapped dirt!)
2 big shallots (finely chopped)
1/2 mug of frozen peas
lamb stock cube
mint sauce
1/2 glass of white wine
splash of olive oil
big knob of butter

IN  A BIG PAN

• cook the shallot until soft in the olive oil, then add the lamb chunks, stir gently until browned.
• pour in the white wine, crumble in the stock cube and add enough water untill the lamb hunks are covered by about and inch. Leave this so it's just bubbling on a low heat for about an hour, give it an occasional stir and top up the water if necessary.
• In a small saucepan - cook the leeks off gently in half the butter until they're soft, then turn off the heat.
• Now the lamb has been cooking for a bit, throw in the carrots and potato, top up with boiling water so everything is covered and cook on a medium heat for 15 mins.
• check the potato and carrot has cooked through, then add the leeks, frozen peas and a heaped teaspoon of mint sauce.
• If you like the gravy thick, mash the butter with a pinch of flour and stir it in gently ( or be lazy and stir in some chicken/lamb gravy granules, adding the butter will make the gravy glossy and even more tasty!)
• Taste to check for seasoning, this is usually the point I add another spoonful of mint sauce!

Enjoy!