Spanish Lamb Neck Stew (Caldereta de Cordero)

This easy Spanish Lamb Neck Stew is tender, rich, aromatic and pungent with garlic, thickened with a paste of stale bread, almonds and sherry vinegar. Serve it with potatoes, rice or crusty bread for the ultimate cosy meal.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 tbsp light oil
• 300 g (10.5 oz) piece lamb neck, diced
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
• 1 brown onion
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 x 400g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
• 100 ml (1/3 cup) red wine
• 200 ml (2/3 cups) chicken stock
• 70 g (2.5 oz) jarred red peppers (approximately 1 pepper)
• roughly chopped flat leaf parsley, for serving
• 25 g almonds
• 1 tbsp light oil
• 40 g (1.5 oz) stale bread
• 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Soak the almonds for the breadcrumb paste in a small bowl of cold water. Heat the oil over a medium high heat in the bottom of a large lidded frying pan or shallow casserole. Season the lamb pieces well and fry them until very brown, making sure you don’t let the bits on the bottom of the pan burn, dropping the temperature and taking more time if necessary, and working in batches if you need to.
2. 2Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion, and peel and slice the garlic clove. Once the lamb is browned add the onions and turn the heat down to medium (in a regular frying pan) or low (in a cast iron casserole – they hold and conduct heat a lot better!), cooking with a good pinch of salt for 5 minutes ago until the onions are starting to soften and colour.
3. 3Add the sliced garlic and cook for a further minute until aromatic. Stir in the thyme, bay leaf, tomato puree, and stir until everything is coated in the tomato.
4. 4Add the tinned tomatoes and the wine, measuring the wine into the empty tomato can so you don’t leave any tomato juices behind. Turn the heat back up to high again and allow to bubble away for about 5 minutes until the sauce has noticeably reduced.
5. 5Add the stock, and season well with salt and pepper. Reduce to low, clap on the lid and allow to simmer for 2 hours.
6. 6Towards the end of the cooking time, make the breadcrumb paste to thicken the stew. Heat the oil in a small saucepan set over a medium high heat and tear over the bread. Cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring regularly, until the pieces are golden. Transfer to a mini chopper or bullet blender along with the soaked almonds, the garlic clove, peeled and minced, and the sherry vinegar. Blitz until you’ve created a smooth-ish paste.
7. 7Turn the heat back up to medium high and stir the breadcrumb paste into the stew. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
8. 8Meanwhile, cut the roasted peppers into slithers. Stir them into the sauce, and allow to warm though while you taste to check the seasoning.
9. 9Serve with potatoes, rice or crusty bread, and sprinkled with fresh parsley.