Navarin d'Agneau

The French spring lamb stew named for its turnips: tender lamb braised with glazed young turnips, baby carrots, peas, and new potatoes

Origin: France

From the journey of Turnip.

The navarin is one of the cornerstones of bourgeois French home cooking, a braised stew of lamb or mutton that takes its very name and character from the turnip, the navet. In its celebrated spring form, the navarin printanier, the tender lamb is browned and gently braised, then crowned with the young vegetables of the season: small glazed turnips, baby carrots, new potatoes, and fresh peas, each cooked until just tender so that the dish is a portrait of spring on the plate. It is the turnip, however, that gives the navarin its name, and the navet's faint, clean sweetness runs through the whole pot. France, almost alone among the great cuisines, never disdained the turnip, and the navarin shows the French gift for treating the humblest of roots with the same care given to the meat. The lamb is browned for colour and depth, the braise built with tomato, garlic, and herbs, and the vegetables added in stages so each keeps its character; the turnips, lightly glazed, hold their shape and their sweetness against the richness of the lamb. It is comforting, elegant, and seasonal, a dish that has graced the French family table for generations.

Ingredients

Stew

  • 1.2 kg lamb shoulder or neck, cut into large chunks
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped (or 200 g tinned)
  • 800 ml lamb or chicken stock
  • 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley)
  • salt and black pepper

Spring vegetables

  • 500 g young turnips, peeled and quartered (or whole baby turnips)
  • 1 tbsp butter and 1 tsp sugar (to glaze the turnips)
  • 300 g baby carrots, scrubbed
  • 12 small new potatoes
  • 150 g fresh or frozen peas
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley, to finish

Method

  1. Season the lamb and brown it well in the oil, in batches, in a heavy casserole. Lift out and set aside.
  2. Lower the heat, add the butter, and soften the onion and garlic. Return the lamb, sprinkle over the flour, and stir for 2 minutes to cook it out.
  3. Stir in the tomato purée and chopped tomatoes, then pour in the stock. Add the bouquet garni, season, bring to a simmer, cover, and braise gently (on the hob or in a 160°C oven) for 1 hour.
  4. Meanwhile, glaze the turnips: melt the butter with the sugar in a frying pan, add the turnips, and cook over medium heat, turning, until lightly golden and glazed, about 8 minutes.
  5. After the first hour, add the glazed turnips, the carrots, and the potatoes to the stew. Continue to braise, partly covered, for 30–40 minutes, until the lamb and vegetables are tender.
  6. Add the peas and cook for a final 5 minutes. Skim any fat, remove the bouquet garni, and taste for seasoning.
  7. Scatter with parsley and serve, with good bread.

Notes

A navarin made a day ahead, up to the point before the spring vegetables go in, is even better; reheat and add the glazed turnips, carrots, potatoes, and peas to finish. Out of spring, the dish is made simply with turnips and carrots as a hearty winter navarin. The turnip is the defining vegetable and should be generous; choose small, young roots for sweetness, and glaze them for the classic finish.

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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