The ultimate comfort food

It’s become a little bit chilly here at the moment. Unfortunately my landlady is winning the ongoing battle over our broken heating system so we have had to rug up at night. These cold nights got me thinking about my favourite comfort food – Irish stew.

The first cook book I ever bought was The Joy of Cooking back in 1998 (not that long ago really). No fancy pictures but lots of very practical recipes. This book was a godsend when I bought it. I had just moved to Australia and wanted to try something a little more adventurous than Spaghetti Bolognese. I was 25 years old and I had never cooked stew before - now that was a crying shame. But since I bought this book I have cooked stew constantly during the few cold months here. J loves it with a pint of Guinness but personally I prefer it with a glass of ice cold fresh milk. That way it’s not just a taste bonanza but a health bonanza too.

Irish Stew
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Heat in a casserole over medium heat:
2 tbls vegetable oil or 30g unsalted butter
Add and cook without browning, until softened:
2 medium onions, chopped
Stir in:
1.35kg boneless lamb stewing meat, cut into 2.5cm cubes, or 1.35kg lamb shoulder chops
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 3/4 tsp dried
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Mix in:
2 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and sliced
750ml chicken stock or water
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Add:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and add, stirring:
8 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1cm slices
45g pearl barley ( I add 100g cos I love the pearl barley)
60ml whipping cream or double cream
Cover and return to the oven. Bake until the meat is fork-tender and barley is softened, 45 to 60 minutes more.
Season with:
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Serve sprinkled with:
chopped fresh parsley