The Country Wives were kind enough to publish this recipe on their website recently.
When cooler temperatures and rain put paid to our barbecue plans on Sunday, I decided to make Navarin of Lamb, a delicious braise which uses a variety of spring vegetables. I didn’t have in my kitchen any of the baby turnips or carrots which are traditional but knew I could make the dish with what I did have, and the recipe below is the result. Use any good veg you can find, with this recipe as a guide.
Navarin of Lamb
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 600g lamb neck fillet cut into large dice
- 1 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter
- 1 small onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 celery stick, sliced
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- I clove garlic, bruised
- Sprig or two of thyme
- Sprig of rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 100ml white wine (or red if that’s what you have)
- 300ml chicken stock
- 225g baby new potatoes
- 100g carrots (baby carrots left whole or “old” carrots peeled and cut into thick batons)
- 150g frozen baby broad beans
- 150g frozen petits pois
Method
- Heat the oil and butter in a shallow, heavy-bottomed casserole on the simmering plate and add the onions, celery and pieces of lamb
- Stir to coat everything in the fat and then move the casserole to the floor of the roasting oven for a few minutes to brown the lamb
- Return it to the simmering plate and add some seasoning, the tomato purée and wine. Let this bubble for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic, bay leaf, herbs and stock
- Bring to the boil, cover and place in the simmering oven for 1½ hours but longer would be fine: in an Aga nothing dries out
- About half an hour before you want to eat, place the potatoes and carrots in a saucepan with a little salt, a teaspoon of caster sugar, a knob of butter and 100ml of water. Bring to the boil on the boiling plate, cover and transfer to the simmering oven
- Cook the peas, drain and rinse in cold water so they retain their colour
- Cook the broad beans, drain and rinse in cold water and slip off the skins
- Remove the lamb from the casserole to a plate, discard the garlic, herbs and bay leaf and bring the broth to the boil on the simmering plate to reduce it a little
- Return the lamb to the casserole and, having checked they’re tender, add the potatoes and carrots and finally the peas and broad beans
- Taste for seasoning, sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve
collection of menus rather than recipes; it’s also a sort of memoir, an account of the places she’s travelled to since she was a teenager, and where she discovered all the dishes she loves to cook and eat. I have already cooked a few of the recipes from the book, although I haven’t yet put together a whole menu. The first thing I made was this braised pork, which I pounced on because I knew it would be perfect for the 
Around the Aga 