Navarin Printanier - French Fridays With Dorie

When I knew this week's FFWD  dish  is Navarin Printanier....I quickly look it up to see what Navarin Printanier is. It is lamb stew ( navarin ) with freshly dug spring vegetable ( printanier ).  It is a classic and a staple of the Easter season and it is one of those slowly braised dishes that make French cooking timelessly appealing. I am glad I did not give this dish a miss. This recipe came to Dorie fourth-hand.  It was her friend Betty Rosbottom, a cookbook author who gave it to her and who had gotten it from her friend Catherine Lafarge , who had begged the recipe from her mother and Dorie in turn shared with us in her book " Around My French Table " . Wow...thanks for their generosity, we get to savor such a delicious one dish meal !

The aroma of this lamb stew while it was braising in the oven, played harvoc to my digestive system and sped up my hunger pang :)   A one dish meal that can be cook without the peas 2 days ahead  and keep it covered in the refrigerator.   This dish needs nothing more than what's in the pot. Ladle the meat and vegetables and the beautiful sauce into shallow soup plates.  As suggested by Dorie, you can dust each serving with a little minced parsley.  

 

The lamb is browned stovetop and then simmered gently with springtime garden vegetables: onions, small onions, small potatoes, carrots and turnips. I skip the simmering part on the stovetop and instead dump the browned leg of lamb and the sauteed vegetables ,except the fresh Holland  peas, into the casserole dish, add in 2 cups of broth and tomato paste and fresh lemon thymes and a shake of dried mixed herbs, black pepper and salt. Mixed them well. Cover with lid and dump the casserole dish into the oven and baked at 200C for 45 minutes.  Take the dish out from the oven and add in the fresh sweet peas before serving.  

 

the veggies I used are carrots, red onions, potatoes and

the herbs I used are fresh lemon thyme and dried mixed herbs

instead of bay leaf

I added the fresh Holland peas last so

that it is not overcooked :)

this one dish meal is bursting with flavors

Slurrppppppp