DAVID SMITH: Let the delightful Irish nectar get to work on this dish

If you have any Guinness left over from St Patrick's Day then David Smith, senior sous chef at the Arora Hotel in Crawley, has a suggestion.
Braised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontonsBraised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontons
Braised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontons

I love dishes that multi-task so they can fit around any changes to your day.

Once made, this dish can be a main course, a lunchtime snack or turned into tasty Chinese nibbles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

So, if your day suddenly turns pear-shaped and your plans to cook a full-on ‘meat, veg and all the trimmings’ meal have gone out of the window, then no worries – the braised lamb is equally delicious with some wraps and salad.

Braised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontonsBraised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontons
Braised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontons

Of course, we have it on our menu with all the bells on – served with a rich gravy, baby vegetables, a mint jus and moon-shaped wontons filled with the same succulent lamb.

Braising the lamb in Guinness deepens the flavour and brings out a slightly earthy taste.

Be brave and pour in a whole pint and let the Irish nectar get to work, turning the meat into melt-in-the-mouth shreds of juiciness.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Grill in the Arora is Crawley’s only AA-rosette restaurant. Call 01293 530000. Follow us on Twitter. Share your dishes with us on Instagram by tagging @aroragatwick.

David SmithDavid Smith
David Smith

Braised lamb in Guinness with lamb wontons

Serves 4 with leftovers

800g boneless lamb shoulder

salt & pepper

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1 small onion

1 leek

570ml Guinness

250ml lamb stock

Wonton wrappers

Method

Season the lamb shoulder with salt and pepper. Chop the carrot, onion, celery and leek finely and place in the bottom of a large casserole dish.

Put the lamb on top and cover with the Guinness and stock. Put on a lid and place in a preheated oven, 140oC, for two and a half hours until the meat falls apart.

Lift the lamb out of the liquid and reserve. Put liquid into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, simmer and reduce until it starts to go syrupy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Shred the lamb with two forks then stir in the cooked vegetables from the casserole dish and the sticky stock.

Serve hot with your favourite vegetables.

To make the wontons, put a small teaspoon of the lamb mix into the centre of each wonton wrapper. Fold in half so it resembles a moon shape, sticking the edges down with a little water.

You can either steam the wontons for a few minutes, or shallow fry until they go crispy. Serve as a starter or alongside the shredded lamb with vegetables.

Chef’s tip

Treat the cooked lamb like you would shredded pork – it is delicious on top of bruschetta or as a filling for wraps.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be among the first to know what’s going on.

1 Make our website your homepage

2 Like our Facebook page

3 Follow us on Twitter

4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!

Be part of it.