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Basque Lamb Stew

Basque Lamb Stew

My father's been going through 20 years of old cooking magazines, looking for interesting things to cook and hoping to clear up some space on his bookshelf. Last night we enjoyed this delicious stew, pulled from a back issue of Saveur magazine.

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Basque Lamb Stew Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 lbs. lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 3 canned roasted red bell peppers, cut into 1/2 inch strips
  • 1 large ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
  • 4-6 sprigs parsley, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup dry, full-bodied red wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock*

* If cooking gluten-free, use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged stock.

Method

1 Combine the lamb, 3 of the garlic cloves, rosemary, and white wine in a medium bowl. Let marinate for 2-3 hours. Drain the meat, discard the marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Mince the remaining 3 garlic cloves and set aside.

2 Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan with lid, over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Return all meat to the pot. Add onions, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, scraping browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, add roasted peppers, tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf, and red wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until juices in pot reduce and thicken slightly, about 10-15 minutes.

3 Add chicken stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Adjust seasonings.

Optional: garnish with fresh mint leaves (though I have no idea how "Basque" that is, it just tastes good.)

Serves 4 to 6.

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22 Comments

I tried this last week and my wife and I couldn't believe how tasty it was! Followed the recipe to a "t" and the results were outstanding.
In fact, we're having company over the house tomorrow and plan on serving this.

Posted by: Anonymous on November 15, 2005 1:15 PM

I have had a similar recipe to this for some time but have never gotten around to trying it.
After reading your remarks and that of the comment left you can guess whats on the menu tonight.

Posted by: Rosie on April 19, 2006 8:18 AM

I made this tonight for tomorrow's dinner. It only simmered an hour, I'll set it to simmer for the last hour tomorrow around 4.

OMG, so yummy. Thank you!

Posted by: Nicole Jackson on July 17, 2006 11:33 PM

Hi, I made this last night, and I wanted to let you know I followed the recipe through step 2, then added mixture and chicken broth to slow cooker, cooked on low for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Came out great and was very convenient!

Posted by: Julie Murdeshwar on September 25, 2006 7:19 AM

If I wanted to use my own roasted red bell peppers, how many bell peppers is this? Thanks!

3 bell peppers. ~Elise

Posted by: ~M on January 17, 2008 7:07 AM

Hubby made these for me for Valentine's Day but without the red wine though. Still tasted good to me!

Posted by: haslina on February 24, 2008 11:46 PM

Made this as is except added a clove of garlic, one more tomato, and a little extra red wine. Excellent! I made it another night with beef and used beef broth instead of chicken broth and added a bay leaf, omitted the mint. Very good.

Posted by: Shea on January 11, 2009 4:01 PM

Loved it! I spooned off a good bit of grease before serving, but the dish was still very flavorful. I served it over quinoa and it was a big hit. Looking forward to tasting it again in a couple of days to see how it sets up.

Thanks for posting this!

Posted by: Michael on January 14, 2009 7:17 PM

Looks perfect, my family is not keen on red bell pepper - may substitute with what?

There is no substitute for roasted red bell pepper in this recipe. ~Elise

Posted by: CourtneyLeigh on May 30, 2009 9:37 AM

I made this for my husband last year! It was awesome! He has been away for a month on a training mission and this was his request for when he returns!

This is by far the best recipe we have found!!!

Posted by: TE on November 10, 2009 6:01 PM

Only had 1 lb of lamb stew. Used all the ingrediants pared down to the amount of lamb I had but still went heavy on the tomatoes. Used roasted red peppers from a jar! Served it over couscous... How Awesome is this???

This is the first time I ever made lamb and I'm in LOVE!

FYI, since I had less lamb it didn't as long to simmer until tender which meant I got to eat it sooner.

YUMMMMY!

Posted by: Patty on December 30, 2009 5:58 PM

Wonder who was the Easter Super Star this year (besides You-know-who of course!)? Me! and it was all thanks to this incrediblly simple but genuinely good recipe...I still can hear the ohhhs and aahhhs :)

Great! ~Elise

Posted by: Rossella on April 22, 2010 2:53 AM

Made this for church Easter pot luck. The hit of the event, positive comments from everyone. Cooked it in a Le Creuset French Oven. Lamb was VERY tender. Flavors pronounced. Absolutely heavenly. Do this over noodles, rice, or a grain like quinoa. You'll be very very happy.

Posted by: Keith on May 12, 2010 4:06 AM

Kaixo,

While looking for Basque recipes in English with standard measurements, I stumbled upon this one, which looks like a typical "estofado de cordero" recipe from Euskadi. Yet, I must say that any Basque grandma worth her salt would probably have included bay leaf in her estofado instead of rosemary. Try them both and see?

On egin denei!!

Posted by: Kepa on August 5, 2010 7:42 AM

This is the best recipe for lamb. I serve it in all the important occasions! Thank you so much Elise!

Posted by: Linda on December 5, 2010 11:04 AM

I had used all of my tomatos so I subbed in canned whole tomato at the last second and it still turned out awesome. Will definately make this again and would absolutely use it for entertaining to impress guests. Sadly there were no leftovers.

Posted by: Sakme on December 31, 2010 3:19 PM

What kind of parsley?

Doesn't matter - Italian or curly. Either way it's going to get chopped up. ~Elise

Posted by: sue on January 9, 2011 6:35 PM

Looking forward to making this weekend and was wondering if you have tried substituting smoked paprika in the recipe?

I have not, but if you do, please let us know how it turns out for you! ~Elise

Posted by: Bill on September 14, 2011 9:52 AM

I made this for my husband last week and he loved it! I want to make it again, but forgot to buy the white wine. Can I use red wine for the marinade? If not, what do you suggest?

You could try it. If you do, please let us know how it turns out for you. ~Elise

Posted by: June on September 17, 2011 9:59 AM

This recipe is incredible. I used grass-fed locally-raised lamb stew meat, and pastured organic chicken fat (schmaltz) in place of the vegetable oil for browning the meat. Also thyme in place of rosemary as I had no fresh rosemary (not a big rosemary fan). Also had to add an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth (homemade, from pastured chicken) as the liquid seemed to be evaporating too quickly. It was incredibly delicious. Even my husband, who strongly dislikes lamb said this was great (he even had seconds!). This took a bit of work but it was well worth it!!!

Posted by: Hannah Springer on February 5, 2012 7:05 PM

I loooooove this recipe. I add more red wine, Green Beans & also diced Potatoes. It just allows me to stretch it a little farther and blends well.I also add fresh Parsley to the marinade. I used canned diced tomatoes w/herbs. Everyone really enjoys this and it's ALWAYS a hit!

Posted by: Andrea on April 2, 2012 2:50 PM

OK I picked this recipe at random just to tell you how much I love this recipe site. I love the stories that accompany the recipes. The photographs are beautiful. I love the sense of Family that permeates this site. And I especially love the recipes that feature multiple pictures of preparation--my collection of recipes is on software called AZZ Cardfile and when I save one of yours there I leave a link at the bottom so I can navigate to the page and see the pictures.

Just an awesome site!

Thanks Bob! ~Elise

Posted by: Bob Ham on May 1, 2012 8:16 AM

I apologize for the inconvenience, comments are closed. ~Elise

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