Slow cooker Irish stew

In honour of our Irish friends across the sea, we’re celebrating Saint Patrick’s day with this classic Irish stew. Filled with tender lamb and plenty of hearty vegetables, this so-called ‘peasant food’ tastes like it’s fit for a king. The streaky bacon brings an amazing new depth of flavour, while the thyme and bay leaves help create that lovely rich and vibrant taste. It’s perfect served with a slice of buttered crusty bread to mop up all the juices at the bottom bowl. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 200g smoked streaky bacon, preferably in one piece, skinned and cut into chunks
• 900g cheap stewing lamb like middle neck or scrag (ask at your butcher counter), cut into large chunks
• Small bunch thyme
• 3 onions, thickly sliced
• 5 carrots, cut into big chunks
• 6 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks
• 700ml lamb stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 85g pearl barley
• 1 large leek, washed and cut into chunks
• Small knob of butter

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the bacon until crispy, tip into the slow-cooker pot, then brown the chunks of lamb in the same pan. Transfer to the slow-cooker pot along with the thyme, onions, carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and enough water to cover the lamb. Cover and cook on Low for 7 hours.

2. Stir in the pearl barley and leek, and cook on High for 1 hr more until the pearl barley is tender. Stir in the butter, season and serve scooped straight from the dish.