Irish Lamb Stew & Sweet Potato Biscuits

A few years ago I was in the check-out at Walmart around St. Patrick's Day and saw a little booklet of "Irish" recipes from Taste of Home magazine. This is the booklet from which I got the cupcakes that Jackie posted. I'd never made anything else from it, so I decided to remedy that this year. Both of these recipes are from the booklet. The stew was pretty good, but what really impressed me were the biscuits. Oh goodness, they are so lovely I could eat them like cookies.

I'm posting the stew recipe as it is in the book, but we don't have a dutch oven (and we don't have room to store one), so instead we coated & browned the meat and then put all the ingredients in the crock pot. Turned out well, though a little soupy. I added some more half & half at the end to make it creamier. Also, I couldn't find lamb stew meat or pearl onions (Wal-mart and Kroger double-fail), so I cut up lamb shoulder chops from Kroger and half of a regular onion.


IRISH LAMB STEW

6 Tb. all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 lb. lamb stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tb. vegetable oil
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. dill weed
8 pearl onions
3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup half & half cream

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 4 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper. Add lamb; shake to coat.

In a dutch oven, brown lamb in oil on all sides. Add water and dill; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is almost tender. Add the onions, carrots and potatoes. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are tender.

In a small bowl, place remaining flour; stir in cream until smooth. Stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with biscuits. Yield: 6 servings.


SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
7 Tb cold butter, divided
3 Tb. shortening
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
6 Tb. milk

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Cut in 4 Tb. butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the sweet potatoes and milk; stir into crumb mixture just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. Pat or roll out to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter (I used a glass :)). Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yield: 1 1/2 dozen.

Editor's note: As a substitute for each cup of self-rising flour, place 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a measuring cup. Add all-purpose flour to measure 1 cup.


Tonight I'm making another recipe from the Irish booklet - glazed mint brownies - for my parents and sister coming to visit tomorrow. :)