This lamb and butterbean casserole recipe makes use of lamb shoulder to deliver a comfort food that soothes the soul and warms your stomach – it's very affordable too.If the shoulder of lamb is not available, you could use diced neck fillet instead which would take a little less time to cook. To prepare ahead, complete the dish, then refrigerate or freeze. If frozen, defrost thoroughly before reheating.This lamb and butterbean casserole recipe is from one of two free cookery booklets written by the experts at Leiths School of Food and Wine, that will be included free with The Telegraph newspaper on the 15th and 16th September.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg shoulder of lamb
- 2 x 400 g cans of chopped tomatoes
- 2 x 400 g cans of butterbeans (drained and rinsed)
- 150 ml lamb or chicken stock
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- seasoned plain flour
- 1 bouquet garni
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.
- Trim the lamb of any excess fat, and cut into 2.5cm chunks.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and sweat for 10 minutes or until soft, then add the carrots and cook until beginning to soften. Transfer to a casserole.
- Toss the lamb cubes in the seasoned flour and then heat the remaining oil in the frying pan. In batches, brown the cubes on all sides in the pan and transfer to the casserole. Add a little water to the pan, scrape to loosen any sediment and add this to the casserole with the stock.
- Add the tomatoes to the casserole, stir, and season with a little salt and pepper, and then add the bouquet garni.
- Cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, adding the butterbeans just for the last half hour of cooking. Remove the bouquet garni.
- Sprinkle with the parsley and serve, it would pair well with a fuller red wine like claret or rioja.
