Irish Lamb Stew

Trim excess fat from 900 g of lamb, cut the meat off the bones into large cubes, and set the bones aside for flavor. Put the meat and bones into a pot, cover with 1 L of cold water, add half the salt, bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then drain; rinse the lamb.

Transfer the meat and bones to a clean pot. Add the peeled and roughly chopped onion, carrot, leek and turnip, put in the thyme and bay leaf, pour in the remaining water so it almost covers the ingredients, and season with black pepper.

Slowly bring the stew to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 60 minutes. Skim the foam off the surface regularly to keep the broth clear.

Peel the potatoes, cut into large chunks and add to the pot after the first hour of simmering. Cook for another 25 minutes over low heat, keeping it from boiling hard.

Thinly shred the white cabbage and stir it into the stew 5 minutes before it's done, so it softens without turning mushy.

Check for doneness: the lamb should pull apart easily with a fork, and the potatoes should be tender when pierced. If there's too much liquid, remove the lid and boil the stew for 5–10 minutes; some of the potatoes will naturally thicken the gravy.

Remove the bones, thyme and bay leaf. Finely chop the parsley, stir it into the finished stew, and add the remaining salt and black pepper to taste.

Ladle the Irish stew into deep bowls and serve hot.