4 brown onions
4 large carrots
2 stalks celery
1kg/2lb 4oz scrag end of lamb
10 whole black peppercorns
2tbsp groundnut oil
400g/14oz Charlotte potatoes (or any other floury variety), peeled and chopped into chunks
1 small white cabbage, shredded
Salt and black pepper
150g/1¼ cups frozen peas
A handful of chopped parsley
On a cold night on the Thames, Three Men in a Boat prepared an entirely inauthentic Irish stew. Alongside the meat, the potatoes, the cabbage, and the peas, they throw in half a pork pie, boiled bacon, potted salmon, and a few eggs. I wouldn’t suggest that it’s a vehicle for quite that much, but on a slow, cosy night in, it’s such a wonderful way to, as the men put it, get ‘rid of such a lot of things’.
Serves 6
1. Roughly chop one of the onions, one of the carrots, and the stalks of celery. Put the scrag end in a large lidded saucepan with the chopped vegetables. Cover with 2 litres/8½ cups of water, and add the peppercorns. Bring to a simmer, and then cook with the lid on for 2 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone.
2. Strain the stock, discard the vegetables, and pull the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and set the meat to one side.
3. Chop the rest of the vegetables: the onions into slices and the carrots into thick coins. Warm the oil in the pan and fry the onion and carrot for 10 minutes until softened. Pour in the stock, and then add the potatoes. Simmer very gently (do not let it boil) for 45 minutes with the lid on. Add the shredded cabbage, and the lamb. Taste the stock and season with salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, for another half-hour.
4. Five minutes before you plan to serve, add the frozen peas and parsley. Serve hot, in big bowls, beside a crackling fire. Leave the cold-weather boating to someone else.