Serves 4-6
• 2 Tb butter
• 2 lbs lamb or beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
o lamb is delicious and more traditional; beef is cheaper
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 onion
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 cup red wine or Guinness stout
• 1 lb mushrooms, stems trimmed and quartered
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
• 3-4 carrots, thickly sliced
• salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350F
Coat the lamb with some salt, pepper and the flour. In a dutch oven or large oven-safe pot, sauté the meat in the butter to brown the pieces. Be careful not to crowd the meat; do it in two batches if necessary.
Remove the browned meat from the pot and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté for about three minutes and then add the wine or ale. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium high heat for about eight minutes. Return the meat to the pot and add the broth, bay, thyme and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and bake in the oven for one hour.
After the first hour, add the potatoes and carrots and bring to a boil. Replace the cover and bake for another 45-60 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
To serve, remove the bay leaves, add a little pat of butter, and salt and pepper to taste.