lamb

andy the gasman's stew

servings
4

method

You might have heard me talking about my mate Andy the Gasman – he's the one who didn't ever want to use his oven as he thought it might devalue the price of his house, so he left it in its cellophane wrapper! Five years on and nothing's changed, but I wanted to get him cooking, so this is something I invented for him to try out. It's so easy to make because all it involves is throwing a few things into the pot and leaving it in the oven for a while. In Andy's case, he'll go to a football match while it's cooking so it's ready as soon as he gets home. You can serve it as a stew or in tortillas with crunchy salad and guacamole. The other great thing about it is that you can bulk it out with different types of roughly chopped root veg, or butternut squash, or even with different types of beans (try cannellini, flageolet or butter beans), and if you want a bit of heat, feel free to add a couple of crumbled dried chillies.

First of all, you need to preheat your oven, but the temperature will depend on how long you want to cook the stew for. If you want it ready in 3 hours, preheat it to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4, but if you want to cook it for 6 hours, then you need the oven on at 140ºC/275ºF/gas 1.

Put a large casserole-type pan on the hob on a high heat and add a couple of good lugs of olive oil. Let this heat up, then add your potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, cumin, paprika, and orange zest and juice, and stir together. Cook for 1 minute, then mix around again before adding the meat, the chickpeas and the tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and pepper and pour over enough water to cover everything. Bring to the boil and put into the oven. You are now free to go out for a few hours (for the whole day if you want to!). Serve the stew in bowls with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of coriander leaves.

• from Jamie's Dinners

ingredients

• olive oil
• 700g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm dice
• 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 level teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 heaped tablespoon smoked paprika
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 800g stewing steak, lamb or pork, cubed
• 1 x 410g jar or tin of good-quality cooked chickpeas, drained
• 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tub of fresh live yoghurt, to serve
• a handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked, to serve

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by sharon on Wed 25 Jan 2012 @ 05:11

hahaha obviously Alex cannot cook methinks! it was yummy! excellent.

2. by Anna on Sun 25 Dec 2011 @ 16:37

I wondered if I shoud use a lid or not, but decided not to since you don´t mention it in te recipy. I was disappointed when I tasted the meat after 5 hours, not tender at all.. So if anyone else wonders, use a lid.

3. by Jimmy(age 11) on Mon 20 Dec 2010 @ 08:10

When you put the stew in the oven does it need a lid?

4. by Shags on Thu 10 Dec 2009 @ 09:59

Just had a bit of cold rainy weather pop up here in Tasmania, Launceston. It's meant to be summer but I guess that's what's so special about the Apple Isle. Saw this recipe this evening, love the site. Always respected Jamie's cooking and outlook on life. It's in the oven. Love the idea of the Orange zest and juice touch. Makes so much sense when combined with the cumin and paprika. I love those little touches in life. Obscure but sensible. Just tipped a bit of red in the plastic glass, ha. Cheers

5. by LISA on Mon 07 Dec 2009 @ 09:59

Well I made this yesterday... had it cooking away while getting our Christmas tree and it was the most scrummy feast when we returned actually thinking about doing it for Christmas Day ! ( Nice and easy with a 6 month old wanting to play and not wanting mummy in the kitchen all day )

6. by Dimf on Wed 25 Nov 2009 @ 19:16

can I use normal paprika powder as well (maybe with some real smoked paprikas for the specific taste?!) and does it really tastes different whitout the cumin (not able to find it here in Spain...)
THANKS!

7. by Dimf on Wed 25 Nov 2009 @ 14:07

is it okay if I use normal paprika instead of smoked and does it mather if I don't have any cumin?
I'm making this on Thursday for a "new friend", I'm quite nervous...:)

8. by Dimf on Tue 24 Nov 2009 @ 14:27

is it okay if I use normal paprika instead of smoked and does it mather if I don't have any cumin?
I'm making this on Thursday for a "new friend", I'm quite nervous...:)

9. by Joe on Sun 27 Sep 2009 @ 20:00

I have to admit a TABLESPOON of smoked paprika sounds like overkill, its powerful stuff. I'll try it with a teaspoon and see how it goes

10. by cookwitch on Sun 07 Jun 2009 @ 19:18

A TABLESPOON of smoked paprika? That is a lot, it is very strong stuff. Is that the correct measure?

11. by Audrey on Tue 05 May 2009 @ 09:08

Nice one Jamie, this one's a winner! Cooked it low and slow for 5 hours and it was delicious, the whole family including my 16 month old toddler loved it, thanks!

12. by Alex on Mon 20 Apr 2009 @ 11:31

Absolutely disgusting! I'm still questioning whether there was a printing error in the recipe book regarding the amount of smoked paprika that was to be included?!

...Unfortunately I'd made two lots of this stuff for a group of friends coming for dinner and I ended up having to whip up a chili instead. The stew couldn't be rescued - the sauce went down the loo & the rest of it was frozen to make it easier to bin!

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