Irish stew

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 kg lamb, cubed (neck chops or boneless lamb leg)
2 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
2 large onions, quartered
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, cut into chunky rounds
1 stick of celery, cut into 5cm pieces
350g new potatoes
225g mashed potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
500ml chicken stock

Method:
1. Season lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Leave for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a heavy casserole dish, brown meat in olive oil, then remove from pot.
3. Scrape all meat from the bottom with a wooden spoon, add butter and saute onions and garlic until soft.
4. Add carrots, celery, browned lamb and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer for an hour before adding new potatoes.
6. Simmer for another 45 minutes until lamb is tender and potatoes cooked.
7. To thicken stew, add mashed potato and stir until well combined. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Tips:
Brown the lamb, saute the onions and garlic and then combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Leave to cook for about 8 hours while you get on with other things.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2006)