Lamb's stew of Avignon

I discovered this ancient provençal recipe on the book "De l'agneau de Provence" by Robert Eymony ,that I knew some years ago .He offered me his book that's not only about recipes but much about the importance of sheeps and lambs in Provençal civilization. I taught this recipe during a cooking-class in Goult's Castle (you can find Tarte Tatin here )

La Daube d’Avignon  (l’abodo avignonnenco)

For 6 servings

1,200 gr of lamb’s meat chopped in squares of about  4 cm

700 gr of yellow onions

700 gr of carrots

100 gr of lard  roughly chopped

120 gr of thin-chopped onion

120 gr of thin-chopped carrot

A piece about 5cm of length of orange peel (organic !! )

Bouquet garni ( thyme & laurel)

250ml of red wine

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Salt ,freshly grounded  blackpepper, 1 garlic clove

Put the lard , the chopped onions & carrots and the oil in a frying pan,let cook gently for about 15 mn , without burning

Then add this mixture in a large saucepan , put on the fire , add the meat and stir over medium heat for 4/5 minutes , add the onions and carrots chopped , the orange peel ,1 teaspoon of salt ( you can taste at the end if it’s enough ) the ‘ bouquet garni’ and the wine ,mix everything ,reduce the heat to the lowest setting Cover the pan and cook slowly for 2/3 hours until the meat is tender .Taste the salt and add the pepper.

You can serve with some rice or mashed potatoes
Note : if you have an hearthenware pan you can cook in the oven , covered , at 120° for 4 hours or till the meat is tender ( it depends on the quality of the meat )

Mashed  potatoes x6

1kg of potatoes ( bjinties is the best for mashing )

Salt

Pinch of nutmeg

Milk  about 250 ml

30gr of butter

Peel the potatoes , cut them in 4 , cook in a steam till soft. Warm the milk , mash the potatoes in a saucepan , add the butter , a teaspoon of salt and the milk ( add little by little ) stir at a medium heat , flavor with the nutmeg ,taste the salt ad serve hot.

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