Navarin Printanier

Cut off the fat and skin from the shoulder and remove and discard the bones. Cut the lamb into 1½ inch/4 cm cubes and season with salt and pepper to provide a good 2 lbs/1kg of meat  Picture  .

Put a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil in a frying pan and brown the lamb in batches, transferring the lamb to a casserole.

Peel and finely chop an onion and soften in the frying pan for five minutes or so. Stir in a couple of tablespoonfuls of flour and cook for a few minutes. Slowly add a glass of white wine and the stock stirring all the time.

Pour the stock over the lamb, add the rosemary and thyme, cover the casserole and cook in the oven at 325°F/170°C/Reg3 for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the vegetables: scrape the potatoes; trim, scrape and quarter the carrots lengthways; clean the turnips and cut into thick slices; and peel the shallots/baby onions.

Coat the shallots/baby onions in salt and sugar and quickly brown in a little oil. When the lamb has cooked for its initial 30 minutes, lightly season the potatoes and turnip slices with a little salt and add along with the baby onions to the casserole. Stir in, cover the casserole and cook for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, check the liquid level adding a little more stock or water if necessary. Then add the shelled peas and quartered carrots to the casserole, stir in and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Check all the vegetables are cooked otherwise cook for a further 15 minutes or so. Spoon off any excess fat, and finish off removing any fat with some kichen paper if necessary.

Chop the parsley and sprinkle over the navarin  Picture   and serve  Zoom  .