Comfort Lamb Casserole

It has been a wet weekend in Sydney but on the upside it was a good opportunity to cook this one pot lamb casserole dish; it melts in the mouth when cooked slowly. You can pretty much throw in whatever vegetables you like but the below medley works pretty well. Serve on it's own or with baby steamed potatoes which will soak up the juices nicely. The lamb can be substituted with chicken thighs if preferred.

Any left overs will taste even better the next day. Throw any any left over potatoes into casserole dish and warm through in the oven.

Preheat oven to 150c

Serves 4-6

700g diced lamb
1 leek, sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 suede, cut into large cubes
3 medium carrots, sliced thick
1/4 small pumpkin, cut into large cubes
10 brussels sprouts
1 pint of lamb stock
2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp chinese five spice
1-2 tsp of corn flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish on a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, wait a few seconds for them to sizzle and turn brown before adding the onions and the red chillies. Cook until the onions are slightly softened and then add the leeks and garlic. Stir for around a minute and empty all the contents of casserole dish into a bowl.

Return the casserole dish to a medium heat. Add the lamb, season with salt and pepper and then brown on all sides.  Add the cornflour to soak up any lamb juices. Add the onion and leek mixture back into the dish followed by the suede and carrots. Stir in the lamb stock and add the chinese five spice. Bring to a boil and pop straight into the oven.

After 30 minutes place the pumpkin cubes and brussels sprouts on the top and cook for a further 40 minutes or until the vegetables and meat are cooked to your liking.