Slow cooker Irish stew

Ingredients

• 625ml (2 1/2 cups) Massel Beef Style Liquid Stock
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1.2kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 5cm pieces
• 2 brown onions, cut into thick wedges
• 3 large carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 celery stalks, trimmed, thickly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 35g (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 4 large sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce, plus extra to serve
• 600g potato, roughly chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled, thickly sliced
• 120g (3/4 cup) frozen peas
• Fresh continental parsley and crusty bread, to serve

Method

1 Heat oil in the searing bowl (see note) of a 5.5 litre slow cooker. Cook lamb, in 2 batches, until browned all over. Transfer to a bowl.

2 Add onion, carrot and celery to slow cooker. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until onion starts to soften. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat vegetables. Gradually stir in stock. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt.

3 Cover with lid. Turn slow cooker on HIGH. Cook for 2 hours (or 4 hours on LOW). Add potato and parsnip. Cook for a further 2 hours on HIGH (or 4 hours on LOW) or until vegetables are tender and lamb is falling apart. Add peas and cook for a further 15 minutes or until peas are bright green and tender.

4 Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread.