Gray's Navarin D’Agneau

This might not be “the classic recipe” but I’ve done it heaps of times, changing the odd quantity or timing on each occasion until it was absolutely spot on!! (Or, at least, several people, including a Frenchman, tell me so!)

It is really easy to make and perfect for this time of year. These quantities will comfortably do for 4 people. Go on…. Give it a whirl!

We need…

A shoulder of lamb (about 700g) trimmed of fat and cut to about 3cm cubes. Keep the bone.
1 big onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, (of course!), finely chopped
About 20 small pearl onions, peeled, topped and tailed
About 20 of the smallest whole new potatoes you can find, cleaned and rubbed
About 20 tiny whole baby carrots (tinned are best)
About 150g peas (tinned are, again, best for this, even though I’d normally hate them)
2 turnips (or parsnips, if you can’t find them), peeled and chopped to about 2cm chunks.
½ pint of chicken stock (I just make it with 2 cubes and boiling water)
½ pint dry white wine
Tomato puree
Thyme and Rosemary (dried is ok if needs be)
Small quantities of olive oil, plain flour, salt and pepper
A fresh baguette.

Put the oven on! 180°C

In a large ovenproof casserole dish on a hot-plate, brown the meat completely (including the bit still on the bone) in heated oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic and keep it all moving from time to time until the onion is softened. Sprinkle a heaped tablespoon of flour over it and stir it in thoroughly. Pour the chicken stock and the wine in and add a tablespoon of tomato purée, a level teaspoon of thyme and the same again of rosemary. Stir and simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes. The liquor will begin to bubble and thicken. Add plenty of twists of salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and turnips, stir, bung a lid on and put it in the oven.

Turn the hot-plate off and go and watch a film. Stir during the adverts.

2 hours later, add the small onions, carrots and peas and stir. Lid back on and back into the oven for min 45minutes.

Put the baguette in the oven for the final 5 minutes. Locate and remove the bone….. once cooled, give to dog. Serve the Navarin on heated plates with crusty baguette on the side and a nice glass of Muscadet.

Enjoy!