Spring Lamb Stew with Green Garlic is the perfect example of a comfort food that's wonderful during the warmer weather months. This hearty lamb stew is packed with fresh greens and bright flavors.
This is one of the lamb courses I served at the garden party I hosted for True Aussie Lamb and Beef.
My goal was to create a hearty, comforting stew highlighting the lamb, and maintain a light, fresh vibe at the same time — and I think this Spring Lamb Stew with Green Garlic is exactly that.
While this is definitely a comfort food meal, with a light broth, it’s not heavy or too rich, and all of the fresh ingredients are light and vibrant.
What is spring green garlic and what does it taste like?
The spring garlic in this recipe is as much of a star ingredient as the lamb!
- Spring green garlic is garlic that hasn't fully matured --before garlic grows into separate cloves, it starts out as a green plant, with a stalk, leaves, and shoots, similar to green onions (scallions).
- It’s mostly available at the Farmers Market, and it typically shows up in early April.
- The flavor of spring garlic is truly special with a fresh, mild, and sweet taste. It’s much less pungent than the garlic we typically see and use.
I found some at my local Farmers Market when I was making this recipe -- while still very young, the bulbs had started to form, though not into separate cloves. They are often a pretty purplish color.
What else is in this recipe?
- lamb shoulder. This is the perfect cut to use for stews, as it’s a bit tough and requires a longer cooking time to become tender.
- vegetable stock. You could also use lamb stock, but I prefer vegetable because it's lighter.
- onion. Well, it’s the foundation for pretty much everything I cook. 🙂
- fresh thyme. This adds a lovely aromatic, earthy, lemony flavor.
- baby carrots. The carrots are slightly sweet, hearty and add a punch of color to the stew.
- scallions. These tend to keep a bit of their crunch, which is lovely.
- rainbow chard. Chard leaves are tender and their flavor is similar to beet greens and spinach. The stems keep a bit of crunch during the cooking process and taste a bit like bok choy. Using the rainbow chard is beautiful because of the pink, red, and yellow colors of the stems and veins.
- sugar snap peas. These add a fantastic crunchy texture and more sweetness.
How to Make it
- Brown the lamb, and then cook it in stock until it’s tender, a bit more than an hour.
- Cook the carrots, scallions, garlic greens, garlic cloves, chard and peas in a separate pan to keep them bright.
- Combine everything in one pot and finish seasoning.
(More detailed instructions are below.)
What to serve with it
While this recipe can certainly suffice for the entire meal, it would be lovely to add a salad and garlic bread.
Recipe Substitutions
If you can't get your hands on green garlic, you can substitute it with an extra tablespoon of scallions and 4 medium-sized garlic cloves.
Spring Lamb Stew with Green Garlic is an excellent weeknight dinner, and is also lovely for casual entertaining on the weekends!
Enjoy!
Spring Lamb Stew with Green Garlic
Spring Lamb Stew with Green Garlic is the perfect example of a comfort food that's wonderful during the warmer weather months. This hearty lamb stew is packed with fresh greens and bright flavors.
- 2½ tablespoons olive oil, (divided)
- 2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- salt and pepper
- 1½ cups vegetable stock
- ½ of a large yellow onion, (peeled)
- a few sprigs fresh thyme, (washed and dried)
- 1½ cups baby carrots, (peeled, thinly sliced)
- 1½ cups scallions (both green and white portions), (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon spring garlic greens, (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon spring garlic bulb, (peeled, minced)
- 4 cups (about ¼ pound) packed rainbow chard, (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- 2 cups (about ½ pound) sugar snap peas, (washed and dried, thinly sliced)
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Coat the bottom of a large pot (ideally a Dutch Oven), with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Generously season the lamb with salt and pepper. Once the pot has preheated, add the lamb. Stirring often, cook the lamb just until the pieces are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pot — you should do this in two batches.
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Add the stock, the onion half and thyme sprigs to the pot. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour.
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While the lamb is cooking, coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with the remaining olive oil, and place it over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, cover and cook until they’re beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Then add the scallions, garlic greens and garlic, and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring often. Mix in the chard and peas and stir to blend. Continue to sauté just until the chard has wilted, about 2 minutes. Set aside until the lamb has cooked for 1 hour.
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Once the lamb has simmered for an hour, remove the onion and thyme sprigs from the pot, and add the vegetable mixture to it. Stir to combine and continue to simmer, covered, until the lamb is very tender, about 15 more minutes.
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Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
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Jeff the Chef
I have to agree with you that this looks neither too heavy or too rich - which is hard to do with a stew! Nice work!
valentina
Many thanks, Jeff! Enjoy. ~Valentina
angiesrecipes
This looks amazingly delicious! The lamb seems really tender and juicy.
valentina
It was/is! 😀 Thanks, Angie!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Hearty and comforting indeed! With this cold weather we've been having a delicious stew like this is definitely in order! Bet it's so good with some crusty bread and a nice glass of vino! Pinned 🙂
valentina
Yes, perfect with crusty bread and wine. Sounds like it'll make for a cozy evening. Thanks, Dawn! 🙂 ~Valentina
Nancy Buchanan
This was such a fabulous stew and perfect for spring!! I haven't worked with green garlic in a long time - will definitely need to hit up the farmer's market for some!
valentina
Hope you find some at your market, Nancy. So happy you were at the party to try the stew -- and everything else. 🙂 Thank you! ~Valentina
Deb|EastofEdenCooking
I'm planning a farmers market trip tomorrow and I'll be searching for green garlic. Such a burst of spring flavor in this lamb stew.
valentina
Thanks! I hope you find it, Deb. When I buy a bunch, I end up using it in everything! 🙂 ~Valentina
Marissa
I think spring is the perfect time for hearty stews like this that highlight the tastes of spring, namely lamb and green garlic! This is going straight onto our menu, Valentina! Thank you for the inspiration!
valentina
Thanks so much, Marissa! 🙂 I hope you love it. ~Valentina
Kelly | Foodtasia
Such a lovely stew, Valentina! Love how the broth is so light. I'll have to look for the spring garlic!
valentina
Thanks, Kelly. Hope you find some and love it. 🙂 ~ valentina
Ron
A very nice spring stew and a perfect showcase for that Aussie lamb. The shoulder cut is a great cut of lamb to cook with. It's full of flavor as well as being great when for so many different dishes. I love using young garlic as well and you've described its taste very well. We eat stews and soups year around, just choosing to lighten up the stock and go green in the warmer months. Thanks for showing the other side of a stew.
valentina
Thanks so much, Ron. I love stews year-round, too. Never a bad time for comfort foods. Hope you try and enjoy! ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
I must admit that I'm not familiar with spring garlic. I'll have to keep an eye out for it, though. This stew sounds fantastic! Like Ron said, we enjoy soups and stews year-round here. I definitely want to put this one on the menu as it sounds quite tasty with that lamb shoulder. Cheers to a fun recipe! 🙂
valentina
Thank you, David! Hope you come across some spring garlic. Bet you'd love it. Enjoy ~Valentina
Kathryn
Hi Valentina,
Such a pretty dish and for those who love Lamb (most Aussie's and our NZ cousins) this is a real winner! I have heard of green garlic but have not come across it down-under. I will keep my eyes peeled at the local Farmers Market in Spring (we are into the 2nd day of Winter today). I think this will be equally lovely in Winter, and as Sydney Winters are very mild I think this is a dish which will be on rotation in our cooler weather.
valentina
Thanks so much, Kathryn. Yes, it'll certainly warm you up in the winter, too. 😀 I'd love to go to Australia one day! My husband was there for work years ago, but it's still high on my "need-to-go-to-one-day" list! I especially love checking out Farmers' Markets when I'm traveling. 🙂 Enjoy! ~Valentina
Mike Forrester
Where we now live in an oppressively hot and humid part of Texas, we have an early spring, then a long Hell-on-Earth summer, and a mild fall. This year, all my wife's herbs bolted as usual in late July, but we had an early and prolonged fall. She got great second herbs, scallions, and garlic. The Farmers' Market provided great lamb, fresh onions and carrots. Not so much chard 'cause after all this is Texas. (We served fresh flour tortillas rather than bread with this.) We have lamb - or goat - dishes pretty often. This lamb stew is like the comforting, familiar mutton and cabrito stewed dishes we all know lifted to a different level with fresh, interesting tastes. The best of the usual and new! I hope we have a mild fall next year! Thank you, Valentina.
valentina
Thank you so very much for this awesome comment, Mike. When I set out to create recipe, my goal was for it to be comforting, but somehow still light with use of the fresh ingredients. So I'm thrilled to hear this. How fun to have a second crop of those delicious herbs. Love that. Thanks again and I hope you have a delightful weekend! 🙂 ~Valentina
Christina Conte
A beautiful dish for spring, Valentina! I have green garlic growing, but just need it to go back down to the temps we had last week instead of the past two days to make this stew! Wow, it got hot FAST!
valentina
Thank you, Christina. So awesome you're growing green garlic. I need to be doing that! 🙂 ~Valentina