irish stew

my herb gardens

the making of

the main feature

my son has been ill the whole week with chest problems so i thought it was about time to whip up an irish stew, as our family believes that stew and a hot bath cure all illness. its actually true! my father and grandparents came from ireland when my dad was a youngster and my gran passed on the irish stew to him. my dad happens to be one of the best cooks i've ever known, and i think he would be quite proud of this post, if he wasn't a technotard and could use a computer! the ultimate comfort food, irish stew is like chicken soup, or otherwise known as jewish penicillin, and using fresh herbs from my garden i've created this dish with love, irish charm and a bit of magic.

ingredients

irish butter
lamb knuckles
onion
fresh rosemary
young carrots
canned tomatoes
chick peas
butternut
fresh cherry tomatoes
small onions

garlic
ginger
black pepper
chilli
salt
herbamare
fresh beef stock

you get your ginger, garlic, chilli and onions cooking in the butter over a nice low heat in a pressure cooker and then add the lamb knuckles. braise the lamb and then add your stock and a good lot of hot water, salt, fresh rosemary, pepper, and herbamare. add your canned tomatos now along with the slower cooking veg like the butternut and carrots and gradually add the rest of the ingredients. put on the pressure cooker lid and wait for the gloriousness to enfold you! add some red wine to the stew if you don't have kids and serve with creamy mashed potato and a sprig of fresh rosemary to garnish!