By Irene Hayton and Carol Song

  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1½ pounds (750 g) boneless lamb shoulder or lamb stewing meat, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes (see Note)
  • 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth
  • 2 cups (500 ml) filtered water
  • ¼ cup (50 ml) tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
  • ½ small turnip, peeled and cubed, about ½ cup (125 ml)
  • 6 small mushrooms, quartered (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons (45 ml) arrowroot powder or cornstarch
  • ½ cup (125 ml) cold filtered water
  • chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add coconut oil, onion, garlic, and celery and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the lamb and brown lightly on all sides. Add the broth, water, tomato paste, sea salt, thyme, rosemary, and carrot and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potato, turnip, and mushrooms, if using; cover and simmer for 30 minutes more or until the lamb and vegetables are tender. In a small bowl or cup, whisk together the arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) and the cold water, making sure there are no lumps. Stir into the stew, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the stew thickens. Ladle the stew into bowls and top each serving with parsley, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Note: You can use 2 bone-in lamb shanks (about 500g/1 pound each) instead of the boneless lamb shoulder or stew meat. Just skim off any foam that rises to the top once the liquid comes to a boil. By the end of the cooking time, the meat should be falling off the bones; cut it up into smaller pieces. Take out the bones, remove any meat that may be left on them, and return the meat to the pot.