With most of the holiday decorations back in storage for the year and what seems like daily “gale warnings” popping up in my weather notifications this past week, it looks like that time of year is fully upon us here in the Northeast: full-on winter, without the holiday cheer to distract us all from the fact that 1) it still gets dark by 4:45 PM and 2) spring is still months away. It is times like these that call for a winter lamb stew.
Looking to escape the city and cozy up to a fire somewhere, Justin (see: Iceland for context) and this branch of The Woks of Life tree headed up to the mountains last Friday for a weekend in Woodstock, NY. The minute I set foot into our small but well-appointed cabin and saw the kitchen, I knew I wanted to cook a recipe in it.
We headed into town, and walked out of a store called Woodstock Meats with a packet of Hudson Valley lamb, some extra spicy house-made hot Italian sausage, and some organic winter vegetables that had the food blogger part of my brain rushing back to our cozy cabin faster than the car could go, ready to whip out the cutting board and my iPhone to make some magic.
A Very Special Lamb Stew
This winter lamb stew with spicy sausage isn’t your average stew. While it does use a familiar formula of meat, root vegetables, red wine, stock, and tomato, the curveball in this recipe is the spicy sausage. That house-made sausage we got from the local butcher? It had a major kick to it. The minute that stuff hit the pan, I was sneezing up a storm and cracking the window by the stove to get some fresh air into the place.
But the resulting stew was mellow, with a warm heat throughout that took a basic stew recipe and kicked it up a notch. (Side note: just had a major flashback to age 9, watching Emeril Live with my dad. BAM! Anyone?)
With the wood stove warming up the room, some Billie Holiday in the background, and warm stew on the hob, you forget about the gale warnings and the fact that you have to pour antifreeze down the shower drain in your little cabin (true story), and suddenly, winter doesn’t seem so bad after all.
Ok, on to the recipe.
Winter Lamb Stew Recipe Instructions
Gather your ingredients. Here’s what we got…some spicy Italian sausage, boneless leg of lamb cut into chunks, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, thyme parsley, wine, tomato sauce, and beef broth:
Amazing what such humble ingredients can make!
Start by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove the sausage from their casings and fry in the oil until browned. If you want your stew as spicy as the one I made, you may want to add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes at this step, because that sausage we bought was hotter than average! Set aside on a plate.
Meanwhile, season the lamb chunks with salt and pepper, and toss in ¼ cup all purpose flour.
Shake off any excess flour and add the lamb to the pot (reserve the flour for use later––it’s going to help thicken the stew).
Sear the lamb on all sides––do not move it until it has browned on each side.
Remove the lamb from the pot and set aside with the sausage.
Add the onion and garlic cloves to the pan, and deglaze with a splash of water or stock. Season with salt and pepper, and cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent.
Add the remaining flour to the onions and stir. Cook for another minute. You’ll notice the flour coating the onions, creating an almost paste-like texture.
Add the broth and wine, and bring to a simmer.
We used a local-ish red wine from the Finger Lakes that we found at the local wine shop. We’re not uh, particularly discerning wine drinkers. (My method is usually to look for the label I like the best. SUPER classy, I know.) This bottle was $11 (what a price!), and you just can’t beat the label and name when it comes to being on-theme for this lamb dinner.
Then add the seared lamb and sausage back to the pot.
Also add the tomato sauce, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and thyme.
Stir, and season the stew with salt and pepper. At this point, you’ve completed most of the work involved in making this recipe. Woo! You’ve added all those delicious ingredients to the pot, and now all you have to is wait.
Bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat down to low. It should be bubbling slowly.
Let the stew bubble gently for 90 minutes. Now’s a good time to check in on your fire, get into a good book, do some weekend blog work, watch a movie, etc.
Because before you know it, that pot of liquid, meat, and vegetables will have turned into this:
Adjust seasoning to taste (salt and pepper!), and serve this glorious, spicy winter lamb stew over buttered noodles and garnish with chopped parsley. Also serve with some of that nice $11 wine––or a slightly nicer one, if you’re so inclined. ;)
You can also serve this stew with mashed potatoes, or even with steamed rice.
Enjoy everyone, and stay warm!
Winter Lamb Stew with Spicy Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- ½ pound spicy Italian sausage
- 1 ½ pounds boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder (cut into 1 ½ inch pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 6 cloves garlic (smashed)
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 cup red wine
- 15 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 2 large carrots (cut into large chunks)
- 1 pound yukon gold potatoes (cut into large chunks)
- 1 pound baby portabella mushrooms (quartered)
- 6 sprigs thyme
- ¼ cup parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove the sausage from their casings and fry in the oil until browned. Set aside on a plate.
- Meanwhile, season the lamb chunks with salt and pepper, and toss in ¼ cup all purpose flour. Shake off any excess flour and add the lamb to the pot (reserve the flour for use later). Sear the lamb on all sides––do not move it until it has browned on each side. Remove the lamb from the pot and set aside with the sausage.
- Add the onion and garlic cloves to the pan, and deglaze with a splash of water or stock. Season with salt and pepper, and cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the remaining flour to the onions and stir. Cook for another minute.
- Add the broth and wine, and bring to a simmer. Then add the seared lamb and sausage back to the pot, along with tomato sauce, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and thyme. Season the stew with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat down to low.
- Simmer for 90 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste one last time, and serve the stew over buttered noodles and garnish with chopped parsley. You can also serve over rice or mashed potatoes!
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