Lamb, red wine and rosemary casserole
Cook a hearty and unctuous lamb casserole and top it all off with Nick Nairn’s tasty side dishes.
Ingredients
For the casserole
- 650g/1lb 7oz boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 2cm/¾ inch cubes
- 2 tbsp plain white flour, seasoned
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 25g/1oz butter
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 300ml/½ pint red wine
- 300ml/½ pint chicken and beef stock
- leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 carrot, cut into 1cm/½in dice
- 1 onion, cut into 1cm/½in dice
- 2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm/½in dice
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For the potato stacks
- 4 large Maris Piper potatoes
- 75ml/2½fl oz fruity olive oil, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For the braised red cabbage
- 50g/2oz butter
- 750g/1lb 10oz red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 1 orange, finely grated zest and juice
- 250ml/9fl oz ruby port
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 85g/3oz raisins
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Put the cubes of lamb in a plastic bag with the seasoned flour and give the bag a good shake so that the meat becomes well coated with the flour.
Heat a large frying pan until very hot. Add the oil and the butter and then the lamb and fry over a high heat, stirring now and then, until all the pieces of lamb are well browned. Don't crowd the pan; cook in batches if necessary. Transfer to a casserole dish and set aside.
Add the tomato puree and red wine to the pan and bring to the boil, scraping up all the little bits that have stuck to the bottom. Pour this into the casserole dish and add the stock, rosemary, garlic and diced vegetables.
Add a little seasoning, cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for 1-½ hours or until tender. (If using a slow cooker, cook on auto for about eight hours).
Remove from the oven and check the seasoning.
To make the potato stacks - preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
First slice the potatoes (no need to peel them) about two mm thick, either by hand, if you can trust your hand and knife co-ordination, or on a mandolin slicer. Dump the potatoes into a large bowl, without washing, and add the olive oil and herbs.
Toss well with your hands, making sure the potatoes are evenly coated. Season with a little salt and pepper and toss again to mix.
Brush a heavy baking sheet with a little olive oil and start to build eight stacks of the potato slices. Try to make them look random, and incorporate as many of the herbs as you can. Sprinkle any remaining herbs and olive oil left in the bowl around and over the potato stacks.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown at the edges and tender all the way through. You can test this by inserting a thin skewer through the middle of a stack - it should slip through easily. Serve immediately or turn the oven low and keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
To make the cabbage - melt the butter in a large ovenproof saucepan.
Add the cabbage and stir to coat in the butter. Add the redcurrant jelly and stir until it is melted.
Add the vinegar, orange zest and juice, the port and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for approximately one hour or cook in an oven, preheated to 160c/325F/Gas 3.
Stir in the raisins and bring back to a simmer. Cook gently for another 30 minutes. Check that the cabbage is tender.
Either serve straight away, keep warm in a low oven for up to one hour or cool and reheat.