March 17th is St Patrick’s Day and we’ve got two traditional recipes to tempt you. Whether you’re an Irish slimmer looking forward to a full-on feast, or you just fancy trying a taste of what the Emerald Isle has to offer, our slimming-friendly stew, served with veg-packed mashed potatoes, makes a perfect St Patrick’s Day dinner.
Slimming World Irish stew recipe
Although traditionally a mutton dish, Irish stew is now more typically made with lamb (which is much easier to get hold of). This rustic, two-step stew couldn’t be any easier. Simply throw in your lamb, chunky veg and stock, then let it work its magic on the hob for two hours. The end result is meltingly tender lamb and tasty veg in a delicious, thick gravy – the ultimate chilly-weather warmer!
serves 4
½ Syn per serving
ready in 2 hours 35 mins
freezer-friendly
What you need:
700g lean lamb leg steaks, visible fat removed, cut into large chunks
3 onions, thickly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 turnips or 1 swede, peeled and roughly chopped
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
900ml hot chicken stock
1 level tbsp chicken gravy granules
What you do:
1. Put the lamb, onions, garlic, turnips or swede, carrots and celery in a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole pan. Add the stock and gravy granules, stir well and bring to the boil over a high heat.
2. Season lightly, then cover tightly. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for 2 hours, or until the lamb is very tender.
More on the blog: Prefer something a little lighter? Try our new Shamrock soup.
Colcannon recipe
Go green with colcannon! This popular Irish dish is a simple mix of mashed potatoes and cabbage – and it’s another two-step wonder. To keep things slimming-friendly, the Slimming World colcannon recipe swaps the usual cream or butter for fat-free natural fromage frais.
More for members: If you’re not a stew person, you could promote your colcannon to a fantastic Free Food main. Look up the colcannon parsnip cakes with bacon recipe on our members’ website – or keep things simple and top oven-baked colcannon cakes with egg.
serves 4
FREE
ready in 25 mins
vegetarian
What you need:
1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ Savoy cabbage, cored and shredded
100g fat-free natural fromage frais
What you do:
1. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 12-15 minutes, adding the cabbage for the last 5 minutes to soften the leaves. Drain and return to a low heat to drive off any excess moisture.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the fromage frais and mash until smooth. Season lightly and serve hot.
More on the blog: Is steak and chips more up your street? Try the Guinness-braised steak recipe here.
More for members
Slimming World members have access to more than 2,000 online recipes, making it easy to celebrate every special occasion while still protecting your weight loss. If you’re looking for more Irish-inspired recipes, you’ll find recipes for Irish stew and dumplings and Irish coffee and chocolate pots on the member-exclusive app and website.