Irish-Brazilian Lamb Stew

Stew is another wondeful fall/winter dish that uses up a lot of the CSA’s vegetables. This stew recipe blends Irish (husband) and Brazilian (me) stew recipes. Lamb and potatoes from the Irish side, collard greens and lots of other vegetables from the Brazilian side. In my parent’s house, they add collard greens to all stews. You can add several vegetables, such as broccoli, turnip, leeks, squash, collard greens, corn, cauliflower etc. Sometimes I use red wine instead of beer. Depends on the mood. Today I am using CSA’s cippolini onions, carrots, potatoes (from last week), celery, cabbage, zucchini, and kale (from last week). Fresh herbs from my garden.

If you are in Irish mode, serve it with Irish brown bread (I have a wonderful recipe that I will share in the future); if you are in Brazilian mode, serve it with long grain white rice (or brown rice). 
The vegetables got too mushy. Next time I'll cook the meat in the slow cooker with the basic vegetables (onions, carrots, celery) and herbs first, and then move the meat to a casserole and add the remaining vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, etc). 

Irish-Brazilian Lamb Stew

8 servings

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound lamb shoulder, visible fat removed

1 cup red wine

1 cup broth (beef or vegetable)

1 ½ cups ceppolini onions

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 medium carrots, cut in 1” pieces


3 stalks celery, cut in 1” pieces

½ cabbage cut in wedges


6 small potatoes, cut in 1” pieces

2 small potatoes, cut in ¼” pieces

1 large summer squash, cut in 1” pieces

½ bunch kale, stems removed, leaves torn

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
 (use ¼ t if dry)

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves (use ¼ t if dry)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (use ¼ t if dry)

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt

black pepper


Directions:

In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the vegetables except the kale. Top with the meat, spices, wine, broth, spices, salt and pepper. Cover the slow cooker, then cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, about 5 to 6 hours. Half hour before serving, take the lamb shoulder pieces from the pan, remove the bones and cut in small pieces. Mash some potato to thicken the sauce and add the kale leaves. Skim off and discard fat.