I’m a make-doer. That is, I’m really good at making-do with what I’ve got.
That’s especially true in the kitchen. I’ve become quite adept at swapping out and substituting and adding this or that depending on what I have on hand, and that’s precisely how this stew came about.
I wanted something warm and cozy for these chilly days of early winter – and I really wanted to use the beautifully marbled grass-fed lamb I’d just brought home from the butcher. I also had a stack of pumpkins in the yard left over from our fall pumpkin patch, and a few random grains in the pantry I’d made a note to use soon. Add a few basic aromatics and homemade bursting-with-goodness bone broth, and voila – dinner!
Lamb Pumpkin Stew
Ingredients
- 1 small pumpkin* 2 bay leaves1 tsp thymesalt/pepper to taste
- 2-3 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3-4 carrots thickly sliced
- 4-5 potatoes*
- 2 cups beans* drained and rinsed
- 2 lb lamb roast*
- 2 quart bone broth*
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
If you’re in a hurry:
- Peel and dice pumpkin, onion, carrots, potatoes. Mince garlic
- Add vegetables, beans, grains, lamb, herbs, and stock to the slow cooker. Add water or stock if needed to mostly cover the meat/vegetables.
- Cook on low 5-6 hours. Add more stock towards the end if you prefer a thinner stew.
- Season to taste. Serve with thick hunks of bread generously slathered with butter (trust me on this one).
If you’ve got an extra 10-12 minutes and really want to boost the flavor
- Peel and dice pumpkin, onion, carrots, potatoes. Mince garlic.
- Sautee onion and carrots in lard or butter (approx 2 Tbsp) until soft. Add garlic and sautee until fragrant, approx. 1 min. Remove vegetables from pan and transfer to slow cooker.
- While the vegetables are sauteeing, rub the lamb roast with salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Add lard to the now empty hot pan and sear the lamb roast approx. 2 mins on all sides. If you’re using cubed stew meat, don’t stir it around. Let it sit in the lard and sear for approx. 2 mins. Stir once, doing your best to overturn each cube and let it sear again without stirring. You’re not cooking the lamb through, you’re only searing the outside to improve its flavor.
- Transfer seared lamb to the slow cooker and add potatoes, beans, grains, and stock. Add water or stock if needed to mostly cover the meat and vegetables.
- Cook on low 5-6 hours. The grains will soak up much of the liquid, making a thick gravy stew. If you’d prefer a thinner stew, add more liquid towards the end of cooking time.
- Season to taste before serving. Serve with thick hunks of bread generously slathered with butter. Or biscuits. Or soda bread. All good options. (chuckle)
Notes
- Pumpkin. A small sugar/pie pumpkin will have the best flavor (that’s what I used), but also feel free to substitute whatever winter squash you have to hand. Butternut, hubbard, honeynut, kabocha would all work well (I wouldn’t use an acorn squash because I’d be annoyed about trying to peel between the grooves, but if you’ve got the patience for that, by all means, go for it).
- Potatoes. Use whatever kind of potato you have. Small roasting potatoes (like yukon gold) will become creamy, big baking potatoes (like russets) will keep their shape and add a lovely toothy texture.
- Beans. I used black beans because that’s what I had in the pantry, but next time, I’d choose navy or cannellini beans. I think the white beans would make for an even creamier texture. Or omit them too, whatevs.
- Grains. I used farro because I found some hiding in the back of the pantry set to expire soon. But barley would be a great choice. Or rice (especially brown rice). Or quinoa. All good options.
- Lamb. I used lamb because I really wanted to. And a roast because it was handy. But cubed stew meat would work great too. You can substitute a beef roast or beef stew meat with great results. Even pork would work well with these flavors.
- Bone broth. I used chicken stock because it’s what I have most of on hand. If you’re using a beef roast, by all means, use beef stock (but if you don’t have beef stock, chicken is fine!). However – if you’re doing lamb, don’t use the beef stock. The beefy flavor of the beef stock will compete with the unique flavor profile of the lamb. So if you’re making this stew with lamb, stick with chicken or vegetable stock.
- Next time. I’m going to roughly chop kale (or spinach would work too) and stir it in the last 20 minutes or so of cooking time. And I’ll probably add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to each bowl to really jazz things up.