Instant Pot (or not) Lamb Stew

My best friend lives in Ontario, Canada.

I blame Kripalu, personally.

The 403 miles between us have been mostly fine since we met in 2014. Mostly because we were in Ayurveda school either taking classes or assisting them for the first 6 ½ years of our friendship.

The last two years have been an issue. (Understatement.)

I hadn't seen her in almost three years, way too long. FInally she came to visit in August, and it just happened that the day she was arriving was also the first cool and rainy day we had pretty much all season.

I knew I needed to make something grounding and sustaining. Air travel is the very definition of vata provoking, which means it’s also depleting.

I decided on Lamb as it is easier to digest (I think) than its beefy cousin and just about as nourishing. From there I went with agni balancing spices like turmeric, coriander, and fennel and the stew was born!

Feel free to play with the root vegetables here as I think this would be lovely with turnip or rutabaga or even celeriac. I would definitely sub sweet potatoes for the waxy potatoes if I was feeling ungrounded in any way.

If you make it, let me know how you liked it and don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram!

Instant Pot (or not) Lamb Stew

Serves 4-6

1lb well trimmed lamb stew meat, chopped into bite sized chunks

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt and to taste

3 tbsp brown rice flour or regular flour

3-4 tbsp (and more as necessary) sesame or olive oil or ghee if you feelin’ fancy

½ cup red wine or broth

1 tsp fennel seeds, smashed in a mortar and pestle

1 tsp coriander seeds, smashed in a mortar and pestle

1 medium onion chopped

3-4 carrots chopped

3-4 stalks of celery chopped

3-4 medium waxy potatoes, chopped or use sweet potatoes if your vata is through the roof

1-2 quarts beef broth or lamb stock if you have it

Parsley, chopped well

Juice of 1 lemon

¾ cup nutritional yeast

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium bowl, mix turmeric, black pepper, smoked paprika, 1 tsp of salt, and the flour until combined. Add the lamb meat and toss until coated thoroughly.

Heat the oil in the Instant Pot by hitting Saute and keeping it on normal heat. Once your oil is starting to shimmer, dump all of the meat and spices and flour into the pot and stir well. Continue to brown your meat for about 3-5 minutes, making sure to brown on all sides. I found I had to toggle between ‘Less’ heat and ‘Normal’ heat with the Saute function so nothing burned.

Once meat is well browned, turn the pot off and remove your meat to a bowl. Turn your pot back on (Saute, ‘Normal’ heat) and add the ½ cup of red wine. Scrape up all the fond (brown tasty bits) and then add the fennel and coriander seeds and stir well. If you find that your pot is drying out, feel free to add another 2-3 tbsp of oil as needed.

Once the seeds begin to smell fragrant, add the onions, carrots, and celery and stir well. Cook until the onions just begin to turn transparent then add back in your meat and whatever juice is in the bowl. Add the potatoes and just enough broth or stock to barely cover all of your ingredients.

Put the lid on your pot, turn the venting knob to seal, and set it to manual pressure cook for 17 minutes.

When the cooking time is up, let it natural pressure release for 20-30 minutes or until the pin drops.

Uncover and add the parsley, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast and stir well. If the stew seems too thin, bring up to a boil by using the saute setting again (Less setting seems good here) and simmer until desired consistency.

Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.

STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium bowl, mix turmeric, black pepper, smoked paprika, 1 tsp of salt, and the flour until combined. Add the lamb meat and toss until coated thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a 6 quart soup pot over medium high heat. Once your oil is starting to shimmer, dump all of the meat and spices and flour into the pot and stir well. Brown your meat for about 3-5 minutes, making sure all sides get browned.

Once meat is well browned, turn the heat off and remove your meat to a bowl. Turn the heat back on to medium high and add ½ cup of red wine. Scrape up all the fond (brown tasty bits) and then add the fennel and coriander seeds and stir well. If you find that your pot is drying out, feel free to add another 2-3 tbsp of oil as needed.

Once the seeds begin to smell fragrant, add the onions and carrots and stir well. Cook until the onions just begin to turn transparent then add back in your meat and whatever juice is in the bowl. Add the potatoes and just enough broth or stock to cover all of your ingredients by 1-2 inches.

Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until the lamb meat is fall-apart tender.

Add the parsley, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast and stir very well.

Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.