This pie features tender and succulent morsels of lamb and a creamy, garlicky parsnip and potato mash. If ever there was luxurious comfort food, this is it.
Full disclosure: this is not a tried and true recipe. At this juncture, I have made it once, but felt it worth documenting because a) it was really good and I most certainly want to reproduce it, and b) I consider most of my recipes living documents. And here we are.
Do check it out and let me know what you think! I love feedback! I want to know about all the ways I am wrong!
What you need:
- 4 medium-sized potatoes, cut in chunks
- 2 medium-sized parsnips, cut in chunks
- 1 tbsp salt
- 900 grams of lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely diced
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 quarter cup of butter, divided
- 1 tsp caraway seeds, ground
- 1.5 tsp juniper berries, ground
- ½ tsp black pepper, ground
- A pinch of nutmeg, ground
- 2 cloves, ground
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of dry, white wine (as always, I use my trusty pinot grigio)
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 medium-sized carrots, cut in bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup of parsley, finely chopped
- Salt to taste
What you do:
- In a large pot, cook the potatoes, parsnips, 3 cloves of garlic and the tablespoon of salt in enough water to cover by an inch.
- While those are cooking, toss the lamb meat in the spices, a pinch of salt and the flour until coated.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until the butter is frothy.
- Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add about a third of the flour and spice-coated lamb pieces. Sear the meat until browned and repeat this step for the remaining two thirds of the lamb, setting the seared lamb pieces aside in another vessel as you go.
- Once all of the lamb is seared, deglaze the pan with the cup of wine and cook for 2 minutes, lifting the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet as it cooks.
- Return the seared lamb pieces to the pan along with the stock, water, dried herbs, remaining garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir until everything is well-combined.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, drain the potatoes and parsnips and return them to their pot along with the remaining butter, the parsley and the cream. Mash until they reach the texture that makes your heart happy.
- Add the carrots and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°, top the meaty stew with the mash and pop it into the oven for 15 minutes.
- Let sit 10 minutes prior to serving, then dig in and let your taste buds rejoice!
melanisms 