Lamb Casserole with Ale

Name: Lamb Casserole with Ale
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 kg lamb shoulder (cut into 2.5 cm cubes); 2 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 large onions (chopped); 1 tbsp plain flour; 200 ml hot lamb stock; 330 ml dark ale or stout; 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard ((I used one)); 1 bouquet garni; 2 carrots (peeled and chopped); 50 grams Speculoos biscuits (roughly broken); sea salt (to taste); freshly ground black pepper (to taste); fresh parsley (to garnish); mashed potatoes (to serve)

Published on November 23, 2016 by Elizabeth 34 Comments
Last Updated on January 28, 2019

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In collaboration with Lamb. Tasty, Easy, Fun.

Winter is most definitely here in Shetland. We had a really mild October; an unseasonably warm month with plenty of sunshine. I’m pretty sure there was more sun in October than there was through the whole summer!

All of a sudden, it felt, we were hit by an icy cold blast from the North. The heaters have been cranked up and new slippers have been ordered online – my goodness the floor is cold.

On the up note, the northern lights were spotted again on a recent clear night.

Hearty, warming comfort food is definitely required.

I’ve teamed up with Tasty Easy Lamb to share one of their delicious and hearty slow cooked lamb recipes with you. The secret ingredients for this tender casserole with a gorgeous thick gravy is a good quality ale, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and Speculoos biscuits!

I’ve been reading all about Speculoos (or Speculaas) on my fellow food blogger’s posts for years now, and the first time I ever had the opportunity to try them for myself was on our summer trip this year to Brussels, Belgium. We were at the Chocolate Museum (yes, they have a chocolate museum!) and the attendant dipped a speculoos biscuit into freshly melted milk chocolate for us to taste test.

Utterly delicious! Like ginger snaps, but with more cinnamon.

Speculoos is a type of spiced shortbread biscuit traditionally baked in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany during the winter festivities.

As chance should have it, lurking in the back of my cupboard there was a packet of Speculoos spice mix and a traditional wooden stamp used to decorate them. I spent a rather pleasant afternoon recently making a batch of these biscuits, enlisting the help of my seven year old with the mixing and stirring.

Lamb. Tasty, Easy, Fun is a new EU campaign launched with funding from the EU. It’s main goals are to encourage home cooks, like you and me, to incorporate more lamb into our diets.

A lot of people think lamb is difficult to cook, that it’s expensive, or it’s just for Sunday roasts. It’s not. The aim of this campaign is to move beyond the mint and demonstrate just how tasty, easy and fun lamb is to cook with in everyday life, like with this recipe, and its addition of biscuits!

I can’t even begin to describe how delicious this recipe is!

The lamb in this dish is slow cooker on the hob over an hour and a half so it’s fork-tender. There’s a gorgeous mustard-kick (you won’t like this recipe if you’re not a fan of mustard) and the sweetness of the speculoos biscuits counteracts the acidity of the ale, resulting in a deliciously moreish gravy-laden casserole perfect for spooning over a pile of creamy mashed potatoes. If you can’t find speculoos biscuits I reckon some Norwegian pepperkaker or even ginger nuts would work well.

Leftovers reheat really well too. The lamb doesn’t lose any of its tenderness, and in all honesty, reheating it seems to mellow the mustard flavour too.

Would you believe my fussy children asked for seconds when I served them this meal? We’re onto a winner here!

For more recipe inspiration, helpful hints on which cuts to choose when you’re at the butchers’ counter and to learn about the vital role that sustainable sheep farming plays in the economy by supporting rural communities across England, Ireland and France visit the Lamb. Tasty, Easy, Fun. website. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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