Spanish-Style Lamb Stew

By John Willoughby

Spanish-Style Lamb Stew
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
2½ hours
Rating
5(1,279)
Comments
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John Willoughby fell in love with pimentón, a smoky Spanish paprika, after a trip to La Vera, a region west of Madrid, first encountering it in a lamb stew.

“The stew, rich with the slight gaminess of lamb, the tang of sherry and the smooth comfort of white beans, was brought to greatness by the subtle heat and almost mysterious smokiness of the pimentón,” he wrote.

He drew inspiration from the stew, making his own version at home and bringing this recipe to The Times in 2010.

Featured in: Pimentón: It’s Spanish for ‘Better Than Paprika’

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 3tablespoons olive oil
  • 3pounds boneless lamb stew meat (preferably shoulder), cut into 1½-inch chunks
  • Salt
  • pepper
  • 2medium onions, chopped
  • 1large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
  • 4garlic cloves, minced
  • 1tablespoon pimentón de la Vera, preferably picante or agridulce
  • 128-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
  • ¾cup red wine, preferably Rioja
  • 3cups chicken stock
  • 2tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • 3bay leaves
  • 3cups cooked white beans, rinsed and drained if canned
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

951 calories; 63 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 28 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 51 grams protein; 1585 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Warm oil in a large heavy-bottom pot with a lid or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, sprinkle lamb generously with salt and pepper and cook in batches to avoid overcrowding, turning once or twice, until each piece is well browned all over, about 15 minutes total. Transfer pieces to a plate as they brown.

  2. Step 2

    Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat and add onions, bell pepper, garlic and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Add pimentón and stir for a minute. Stir in tomatoes, breaking them into bite-size pieces and scraping browned bits from the pot. Add wine, chicken stock, vinegar and bay leaves and bring just to a boil.

  3. Step 3

    Return lamb to pot and reduce heat so mixture is bubbling very gently. Partly cover pot and cook, stirring every 20 minutes or so, until lamb is very tender, about 2 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in beans and cook another 10 minutes to heat them through. Stir in parsley and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,279 user ratings
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Comments

Bill Owens

Like all dishes of this type, if you cook in the oven instead of on the top of the stove, everything will be more tender and delicious. 2 hours in the oven at 350 = 2 hours on top. Good for osso buco, any other meat cooked in a dutch oven.

Suzanne M

Made with 2 lb of lamb, and added about a half pound each of carrots and potatoes about 45 minutes before the end of cooking. Delicious!

Kate

My Asturian partner was over the moon with this one. I made this numerous times over the winter, using pimenton de la vera picante and--when the Park Slope Coop had them--real Spanish fabada beans (soaked overnight and precooked), to great accolades. This great stew really lends itself to a long simmer in a slow cooker, until you want to add the beans and eat.

Staci E

Overall love this recipe - it is a family favorite! We have always made it in the instant pot and just put the dried beans in with everything else with no issue. Tonight we made it on the stove and I tried adding the dried (quick soaked) beans with an hour to go as another comment suggested. They were no where near done after 1 hour, and after well over 2 hours were still pretty hard. I don't the think the beans were very old. From what I I have looked up I think maybe the acidic ingredients (tomatoes, wine) could be keeping the beans from getting soft. If I ever make it on the stove again I will definitely cook the beans separately and add at the end!

Johnny

Delicious! I used pimentón picante and put in several tablespoons because there’s no way 1 tablespoon is enough. 1 scoop for 3 pounds of meat?!

Mark

Found this when I caught lamb stew meat w/ bones on special at my grocery. Used only 2 lbs of lamb- three seems like overkill. Also used hot Hungarian Paprika instead of suggested Spanish paprika which is impossible to find where I live. Used regular canned diced tomatoes, six garlic cloves, and added two carrots as suggested by others. Braised in oven at 330 for good 2.5 hours. VERY good!

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