Contrary to popular belief, corned beef and cabbage is not the national dish of Ireland. There will be corned beef and cabbage served in Ireland this week - but only to American tourists.

If there is a national dish of Ireland, it might be lamb. I personally love the flavor of lamb and enjoy it prepared with Greek, Italian and French flavors; but especially in a straightforward, simple Irish stew where the lamb is truly the star.

Braised lamb shoulder chops, Irish style

½ cup all purpose flour

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil or butter

4 lamb shoulder chops, bone-in, about 2 pounds total

1 large onion, cut into large dice, approximately 2 cups

2 stalks celery, cut into large dice, approximately 1 cup

3 Large carrots cut into large dice, approximately 2 cups

2 cups water

1 clove garlic, chopped

6 – 8 medium sized boiling potatoes (white or Yukon Gold) peeled

Additional 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter

¼ cup chopped parsley

Preparation time: about 40 minutes, total cooking time 2 hours 40 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Measure flour into a shallow bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil or butter in heavy-bottomed skillet or enameled Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge lamb chops in seasoned flour and brown well in skillet or Dutch oven, 8-10 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary to avoid over-crowding the pan. (It is important to be patient and get good color on the chops.) Remove browned chops to a 2-quart casserole dish if using a skillet, or to a plate if using a Dutch oven. Add onion, celery and carrot to pan, adding any remaining seasoned flour and an additional tablespoon or two of butter or oil if necessary. Sauté vegetables about 10 minutes, scraping up brown bits from bottom of the pan. Add water and chopped garlic and bring to a boil. Once the broth has thickened slightly, pour over chops in casserole or, if using Dutch oven, add chops back to pot. Nestle whole, peeled potatoes on top of chops and vegetables (about half submerged) and drizzle with olive oil or melted butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook in low oven for two hours.  Serve each person a chop, a potato or two and some vegetables and broth in a shallow bowl, garnished with parsley.

Note: Lamb shoulder chops are an affordable cut (I paid $5.99/pound) and after a long braise the meat will literally fall off the bone.  If you prefer not to deal with the bones, you may substitute boneless cubes of lamb shoulder meat.

Comments, questions and suggestions can be sent to Jennifer Cantwell at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .