Julia Child's Lamb Tagine

This lamb is so tender it just faals off the bone. Delicious.

Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 1 hour, then LOW for 6 to 7 hours; vegetables are parcooked, then finished in slow cooker last 30 to 60 minutes


Ingredients

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, as needed

3 pounds lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 3-inch chunks ( i used 3 lb. lamb shoulder)

1 large white or yellow onion, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

2 cups chicken, lamb, or beef broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour kneaded into 2 tablespoons unsalted butter for thickening

2 bunches baby carrots (14 to 16 carrots, about 10 ounces–not from a bag), peeled and root trimmed with 1/2 inch of the stem

1/2 pound baby turnips (10 to 12), peeled and left whole or halved

1 pound asparagus, bottoms snapped off and cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths

1 cup fresh (about 3/4 pound unshelled peas) or thawed frozen petite peas

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and brown the lamb on all sides over medium-high heat; transfer to the slow cooker. Add the onion to the skillet and cook a few minutes to take the raw edge off; add to the crock. Add half of the tarragon, the broth, and wine. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.

Reduce the heat to LOW and cook until the lamb is very tender, about 6 hours.

Add the kneaded butter (beurre manie) in pieces to the cooker and stir until thickened.

In a small pot of boiling water, parcook the carrots and turnips separately 5 minutes each; add to the crock with the rest of the tarragon, the asparagus, and peas. Cover and cook on LOW until the vegetables are cooked, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. Season with salt and pepper.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann