Tasty Tuesday: Traditional Lamb Stew #dinner #recipe from #romance #author Cara Marsi

Last week I talked about how I learned I enjoy eating lamb. This week, Cara Marsi is going to share how her character fell in love over lamb stew.

Thanks, Betty! In A Catered Romance, when Mary Beth explains to Tom that the lamb stew is for an engagement party for a couple who’d had lamb stew on their first date, Tom says that’s romantic. Mary Beth answers that she no longer believes in romance. Since Tom broke her heart once, this helps set up some of the conflict.

Traditional Lamb Stew

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 10 min. Cook: 1 hour

MAKES: 4 servings

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds lamb stew meat

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 large onions, quartered

3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 small potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1-1/2 teaspoons minced chives

½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme

Directions

In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add the onions, carrots and remaining oil to pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes, broth, salt, pepper and lamb; Bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat. Cover and bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender.

With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a large bowl; set aside and keep warm. Pour pan juices into another bowl; set aside.

In the Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the parsley, chives, thyme, and meat and vegetables; heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

In A Catered Romance, Mary Beth tells Tom she likes to roast the lamb first. You can do that if you want. Roast the lamb with some of the broth for about an hour, either the full roast or the cut-up pieces. Season as you like. Let the lamb cool before you cut it up. Follow the rest of the instructions. Also, you’ll probably want to double the broth and double the spices. I find that recipes are never quite spicy enough for me, and the amount of broth used in this recipe isn’t enough. Experiment. That’s what I do.

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I love to experiment with recipes, adapting them to our tastes. Thanks for sharing that amazing recipe for lamb stew, Cara! I’m always up for a new tempting lamb recipe, especially one so integral to a romance story. After all, we all have to eat, right?

Betty

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