Shepherd's Stew

After enjoying lovely roast lamb last night and hot lamb sandwiches for lunch today, we thought we'd turn leftovers into a shepherd's pie, although we ended up with delicious Shepherd's stew!



Morgan removed the remaining meat off the bone and then we made fresh stock by simmering the bones in enough water to cover them. I added a roughly chopped onion, carrot, bay leaf and celery.



After 1hr I removed the bits and reduced the stock down to 4 cups and added salt and pepper. Meanwhile I made mashed potatoes with both regular and sweet potato. I used butter and a little cream and whipped them together with a whisk. I also added 2tbsp of Parmesan cheese to the mash.

I finely chopped up one red onion, 2 stalks of celery and 1 carrot and sauteed them in a little olive oil for 5 minutes.



Into the stock I added 2tbsp tomato paste, 2 tsp beef stock powder, 2tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2tbsp plain flour. Then, I added the diced lamb, new bay leaf and sauteed vegetables and cook for 10mins to reduce the liquid. Finally add shredded silverbeet and dobbed mashed potato on top.

I had too much stock and too little potato, so I just allowed a few icebergs of potato to float on the top of the 'pie' as I put it into the oven.

When I checked on the pie 20minutes later, the potato had spread around the top by itself. Neat! I added a little butter on top to help the edges gain a golden colour. Cook for a final 20mins.


Shepherd's Stew!


Sprinkled with parsley, salt and pepper. Eat with a spoon instead of a fork! :)

Honey Garlic and Rosemary Roast Lamb

Easter Sunday and roast lamb feels appropriately sacrificial. I haven't reinvented the wheel here, but there's a couple of flavours that I couldn't resist adding.


Roast lamb

Start with a classic garlic roast lamb recipe. That is, make 10 slits on a 1.5kb leg of lamb and stuff holes with slivers of garlic and sticks of rosemary. Then, mince up another couple of cloves of garlic with 3 tbsp olive oil and 2tbsp honey. Slather the lamb in honey mixture. Coat with 3tbsp rosemary leaves. Add pepper and salt and pop in a hot oven...



...prepare potatoes and sweet potatoes by washing them and dicing them. Coat in olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin seeds (whole seeds are important here), rosemary twigs and leaves, salt and pepper. Pop into a hot oven for 45mins, move them around and then leave in a medium oven for another 30mins or so.

After putting in the roast veges--approx. 20-30mins after lamb started cooking--add 1 cup of white wine and/or water to the bottom of the roasting pan and turn down to 180 degrees for approx. 1hr. The water stops the honey from burning. Cover in foil after taking from the oven and let rest for 20mins.


I made mint sauce with a bunch of mint, 1/2 cup of cider vinegar, 2tbsp brown sugar and some water.


Parsley, fetta, red onion and lemon juice to sprinkle over steamed broccoli (start steaming when lamb comes out of the oven).


Serve lamb next to heaped broccoli sprinkled with onion mixture and roast veges. Spoon over mint sauce to taste.


Lovely broccoli

Enjoy the rest of the autumn equinox folks! Next festival is Anzac day and remembrance.