Recipes: Lamb & Goat

Scottish Lamb Hotch Potch Stew

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Tender pieces of grass-fed lamb or goat shoulder, with a big, bountiful mix of vegetables in broth make a rich, healthy meal. The lamb or goat meat stew recipe is called Hotch Potch, and it may sound like a children’s game, but it’s actually a traditional Scottish vegetable stew featuring lamb or mutton. In this goat meat stew recipe, Chef Alan Bergo uses lamb shoulder, but many other slow-cooking cuts like goat meat could be used too.

Chef Bergo discovered an old recipe for Hotch Potch and decided to create a modern version that still keeps the basic principles of the original. In times of food scarcity, the lamb or goat meat stew recipe could be made with garden vegetables that were available, but also wild vegetables that one could gather, specifically wild onions, lovage, and nettles.

As a forager, Chef Bergo is no stranger to wild, edible plants, but to make things approachable, and possible for home kitchens, he features only one wild ingredient: nettles, along with a selection of vegetables you might find as Spring changes to early Summer. Chef Bergo uses edamame, fava beans, lettuce, asparagus, spring onions, and turnips in his version, but you should feel free to use whatever is on hand, and very fresh.

This recipe is by James Beard Award-winning Chef Alan Bergo. He’s a chef from Minnesota and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. Learn more about Chef Alan at foragerchef.com. 

Chef Alan Bergo

Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.

How to Make Lamb Hotch Potch Stew

Shelling legumes for the hotch potch.
Trimming cooked, chilled, lamb shoulder into pieces.
Cook firm ingredients first, like radishes, turnips and raw onions.
Scrape fat off the chilled stock before assembling the final dish.

The finished pot of Hotch Potch.

More Lamb Soup and Stew Recipes

Easy Lamb Neck Stew

Irish Lamb Stew with Guinness

Lamb Stew with Mushrooms and Red Wine

Print

Scottish Lamb Hotch Potch Stew

A traditional lamb stew from Scotland
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Scottish
Keyword Hotch Potch, Lamb Shoulder
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 6 People
Calories 349kcal
Cost 10

Equipment

  • Deep braising dish

Ingredients

Initial Stew

  • 1 lamb shoulder bone-in, about 3.5 lbs or 3 lbs stew meat
  • 5 cups meat stock or water

Vegetables

  • 6 small radishes or baby turnips peeled and quartered
  • 3 cups mixed legumes such as peas, edamame, and fava beans
  • 8-10 small spring onions or scallions
  • 3 cups of loosely packed nettle tops spinach can be substituted
  • 2 cups asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 small head of lettuce cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup flavorless oil
  • Highest quality extra virgin olive oil to garnish (optional)
  • Fresh mint about 10 leaves
  • Fresh chives to garnish (optional

Instructions

Lamb

  • Preheat the oven to 325.
  • Season the lamb shoulder with salt and pepper all over. You'll need at least 1 teaspoon of salt.
  • Put the stock and lamb shoulder in a casserole with a lid, cover with a piece of parchment and a lid. Cook the lamb shoulder for 2.5 hours or until tender, then cool for an hour and refrigerate until the fat has risen to the surface of the pot and the lamb is stiff, which will make sure it doesn’t fall apart when it’s cut.
  • Remove the chunks of fat from the pot (it will remove easily) then transfer the lamb to a cutting board, pat dry, and with a paring knife, carefully remove the fat cap, and then the bone.
  • Cut the lamb into 1-inch pieces and reserve separately from the liquid.

Vegetables and Finishing

  • In a large sauté or cast iron pan, heat the oil, then add the spring onions and radishes and sweat until tender. Add the remaining vegetables except for the lettuce and nettles along with the stock, and cook until the vegetables are just tender, covered, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally to wilt the nettles. Season the vegetables with a good pinch of salt. Add the lamb to the pan along with the nettles and lettuce and heat through.
  • Finally, add mint to the pot, stir to distribute, double-check the seasoning for salt and pepper, adjust as needed, then divide the stew equally between 4 heated bowls, drizzling the stock over each portion and finishing with a sprinkle of chives. The stew should be very thick, with only an about ¼ cup of lamb jus per bowl. Serve with high-quality olive oil at the table for drizzling over each bowl.

Video

Notes

Many different cuts can be used to make this dish. Historically it was likely made with bone-in lamb meat.

Nutrition

Serving: 8oz | Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 1154mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1405IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 321mg | Iron: 6mg

 

 

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Published by
Alan
6 years ago

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