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Young lamb braised until tender with the first new potatoes of spring and sweet peas added at the last moment, finished with fresh mint and parsley. A celebration of the season in one pot.
Spring lamb is a fleeting thing. The animals are young, the meat is mild and tender, and the window is short. When you find it at the market, buy it. This is the moment.
New potatoes arrive at the same time, no bigger than a walnut, with skins so thin you could rub them off with your thumb. And the peas, the first ones of the year, sweet enough to eat raw while you shell them. These three ingredients belong together. The calendar arranged it that way.
The cooking is simple. Brown the lamb well, braise it gently in good stock, add the potatoes partway through, and scatter the peas in at the very end so they keep their color and snap. Fresh mint and parsley at the finish. That is all. Perfect ingredients need almost nothing done to them.
This is the kind of dish you make for Easter, or for any Sunday when the farmers market has finally shaken off winter. The sort of thing you bring to the table in the pot itself, steam rising, letting everyone serve themselves. Every meal is a meaningful choice, and choosing to cook what the season offers connects you to something larger than dinner.
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into 2-inch pieces
Quantity
to taste
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1 large
diced
Quantity
4
smashed
Quantity
2 medium
peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
Quantity
2
cut into 1-inch pieces
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
4 cups
preferably homemade
Quantity
4 sprigs
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 sprig
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
halved if larger than a walnut
Quantity
2 cups (about 2 pounds in the pod)
Quantity
3 tablespoons
chopped
Quantity
2 tablespoons
torn
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless lamb shouldercut into 2-inch pieces | 3 pounds |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| unsalted butter | 2 tablespoons |
| yellow oniondiced | 1 large |
| garlic clovessmashed | 4 |
| carrotspeeled and cut into 1-inch pieces | 2 medium |
| celery stalkscut into 1-inch pieces | 2 |
| dry white wine | 1 cup |
| lamb or chicken stockpreferably homemade | 4 cups |
| fresh thyme | 4 sprigs |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| fresh rosemary | 1 sprig |
| new potatoeshalved if larger than a walnut | 1 1/2 pounds |
| fresh peas | 2 cups (about 2 pounds in the pod) |
| fresh flat-leaf parsleychopped | 3 tablespoons |
| fresh mint leavestorn | 2 tablespoons |
| lemon zest | 1 tablespoon |
Pat the lamb pieces thoroughly dry with clean towels. Season generously with salt and pepper on all sides. The meat should sit at room temperature for twenty minutes before cooking. Cold meat will not brown properly, and browning is where the flavor begins.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in batches so you do not crowd the pot, brown the lamb pieces on all sides, turning every two to three minutes. Each batch takes about eight minutes. The meat should develop a deep golden crust. Transfer to a plate as each batch finishes.
Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat from the pot. Add the butter and let it foam. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to color at the edges, about five minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook until the vegetables soften and the kitchen smells sweet, another five minutes.
Pour in the wine and scrape up all the browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pot. These are flavor. Let the wine bubble and reduce by half, about three minutes. Return the lamb and any accumulated juices to the pot. Pour in the stock. It should nearly cover the meat. Nestle in the thyme, bay leaves, and rosemary.
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot with a lid slightly ajar and reduce the heat to low. The surface should show lazy bubbles, not a vigorous boil. Braise for one hour, then check the lamb. It should be tender but not yet falling apart.
Tuck the new potatoes into the braising liquid, pressing them down so they are mostly submerged. Cover again and continue cooking for another thirty to forty minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the lamb yields easily to a fork.
Remove and discard the herb sprigs and bay leaves. Scatter the fresh peas over the surface of the stew. Cover and cook just until the peas turn bright green and tender, three to four minutes for fresh, slightly less if using frozen. The peas should keep their aliveness. Stir in the parsley, mint, and lemon zest. Taste. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.
1 serving (about 500g)
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