Eunice Power - Tuscan Lamb with Olives and Thyme

This is a wonderfully warming casserole, perfect for cold February days. Red wine gives a lovely richness to the dish, the chilli warmth and the thyme an aromatic quality.

The cooking aromas are wafting from the kitchen as the boys arrive in from school cold and hungry. Hunger, as my mother says, is of course the best sauce.

This, like most casseroles, is better made the day before - if you can manage to stay away from the pot!

Tuscan Lamb With Olives And Thyme

Serves 4 generous portions

4 tbsp olive oil
1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm chunks
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
250 ml Chianti
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
200 g tin of chopped Italian plum tomatoes
125 g (4 oz) best black olives, pitted
Salt, black pepper

Warm two tablespoons of the oil in a heavy pan (with a lid) over medium heat. When hot, add the lamb pieces and fry in batches, until sealed and browned on all sides. Scoop the lamb out of pan and set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan. When hot, stir in onions, garlic, carrot, and celery and cook until softened and turning lightly golden, about 5 minutes.

Pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Vigorously scrape up any crusty caramelised juices from the bottom of the pan and let the wine boil hard for a minute or two, so that all the alcohol bubbles away. Stir in the tomatoes, then adjust the heat so that the liquid barely simmers.

Return the lamb to the pan and sprinkle over the chilli and thyme.

As soon as the braise starts to bubble, turn down the heat to low and let barely simmer on top of the stove or in a 150C (300F) Gas 2 oven.

Cook until the lamb is meltingly tender, about 1½ to 2 hours, adding the olives for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve hot on warmed plates with parsley mash.

Photography Harry Weir www.harryweir.com (image first appeared in Food&Wine Magazine)
Food Styling Leona Humphreys www.onefineplate.com

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More recipes from Eunice Power are available on www.eunicepower.com

Room reservations can be made on www.powersfield.com - hope to see you in Dungarvan during the year.

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Eunice Power is a professional chef with over twenty years experience in the hospitality business. She runs Powersfield House in Dungarvan County Waterford, which is our B&B of the Year for 2012 and also the winner of the Best B&B Breakfast. Her philosophy is to use fresh, seasonal, locally produced food, sourced organically where possible. 

Eunice has a successful outside catering company, writes about food (she is the author of an excellent cookery book written for local company Waterford Stanley) and teaches at Paul Flynn’s Tannery Cooking School, where her enthusiasm and zest for a life filled with good food are given free rein."