Beer and Stew

A significant lack of cooking took place this weekend as I was in London saying goodbye to a lovely friend who is going off travelling for nine months. To compensate for the lack of cooking, there was an abundance of beer, another one of my favourite things after food, and London does always offer a good pint. A particular favourite of mine from the weekend was Mad Goose, a pale ale brewed by Purity Brewing Co. If you ever see it on a pump, I would absolutely recommend trying it.

Watch out for this on a beer pump.

Delicious pint, and made better by being served in a jug.

The weekend was finished off nicely by having my favourite lamb and potato stew cooked by my mother. I am not normally taken with traditional English casseroles or stews and have preferred those with influences from other countries, and this one has a Greek character. This recipe uses neck fillet, a relatively cheaper cut of lamb, and is flavoured with lemon, herbs and feta. Plus, it's all made in one pot! 

It was hard to get a good photo and, as said previously, I am not 

any sort of photographer. If you like something with a twist,

 I would recommend this as it's easy, warming and tasty. 

Greek Lamb Stew

Olive oil

1.25kg lamb neck fillet, diced

2 onions 

2 garlic cloves

450g Ripe tomatoes (or tinned tomatoes will do)

Half a lemon (or a whole one if you like it really lemony)

1 tsp dried oregano

600ml vegetable stock

750g small new potatoes

200g feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 170C fan then heat a glug of oil in a large casserole pan and brown the lamb (in batches). Once browned, place on a plate while the onions are softened in the fat and brown left by the lamb. Stir in the crushed garlic and put the lamb back in. Add the tomatoes, the lemon chopped up (leaving the rind on), oregano, stock and bring to the boil. Then put the lid on, pop into the oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Put the potatoes in and return to the oven for another 45 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, crumble the feta over the stew, put the lid back on and leave it to melt for a few minutes. 

Serve with some crusty bread smothered in butter. Yum!

Of course, even though I was not cooking this one, there always has to be a soundtrack and for this it was the music from Frozen as my daughter was watching it while my mother was cooking us our dinner.

You're never too old for Disney.