Lamb Navarin – Navarin d’agneau – is one of the great classic French stews (ragoûts). Lamb is slowly braised until meltingly soft in a rich sauce with potatoes and vegetables to soak up all that flavour. If you’ve never made a French stew before, this is a good one to start with as it is easier to make than Coq au Vin and Bourguignon.
Nagi's Notes
You know what I really love about this? The sauce. It’s different. Sometimes stew sauces can taste a bit same-same. Tasty, but familiar. But this Navarin! The lamb gives the broth a richer flavour than using other proteins, and all those vegetables add flavour into the sauce as they cook slowly until they’re so soft, they melt in your mouth. It’s hearty, but not heavy and I love it. I think you will too!
PS I also love that I don’t have to make a mash, this has everything you need for a complete meal!
Lamb Navarin
Lamb Navarin is the most well known lamb stew in France. I have clear memories of my young self learning how to cook it at culinary school, then making it for my parents at home.
Traditionally, it was cooked in spring using the first young vegetables of the season. Nowadays, it’s also cooked all year round, simply using seasonal vegetables instead. But one vegetable that is always expected to be in it is turnips. In fact, the name Navarin comes from the French word navet, meaning turnip.
So along with the lamb, they’re an important part of the dish, but if you can’t find them, swede (rutabaga) or even more potatoes are excellent substitutes.
Ingredients
Here is what you need to make Lamb Navarin.
BEST LAMB FOR NAVARIN
Lamb shoulder is the best cut for this recipe. It’s a tougher cut that’s made for slow cooking, with plenty of marbling that keeps the meat really juicy as it cooks. I always use it for Navarin and other lamb stews and wouldn’t swap it for anything else. Luckily, it’s widely available these days.
Avoid buying pre-cut lamb pieces. They’re usually cut too small, so they’ll be ready before the sauce has had time to develop its full flavour. It’s much better to buy a whole piece of lamb shoulder and cut it yourself into large chunks! I also wouldn’t recommend using lamb leg or other lean cuts. They are not fatty enough and tend to dry out during the long, slow cook.
VEGETABLES FOR NAVARIN
These are the vegetables in this classic winter version of Navarin. However in France, this is made with seasonal vegetables year round. For example in spring, people use vegetables like asparagus, dutch carrots, fava beans, and baby turnips.
Turnips – A root vegetable with crisp white flesh and a mildly peppery flavour when raw. As they slowly cook, they become beautifully tender, sweeter and much more mellow, soaking up all the flavours of the stew. Turnips are one of the classic ingredients for this recipe but if you can’t find them, swede (rutabaga) or even more potatoes are excellent substitutes.
Baby potatoes / new potatoes – The waxy kind so they hold their shape during the slow cook. They’ll soak up the rich sauce without falling apart. Choose ones that are the same size if you can, so they cook through in the same time.
Pearl onions, or pickling onions – Pearl onions are the tiny onions that are a classic ingredient in French stews, but it can be hard to put your hands on them here in Australia. Pickling onions are the ideal substitute which are widely available. They’re usually slightly larger, so just peel away an extra layer or two until they’re about 2.5 cm / 1 inch in diameter. Soak them in cold water for 10–15 minutes to soften the skins, this will help with the peeling.
If you can’t find either, use 2 regular brown or yellow onions instead. Halve them, then cut each half into 1 cm / 2/5-inch wedges.
Carrots – Everyday standard carrots will work here.
Frozen Peas – Just regular frozen peas or baby peas. You don’t have to thaw or pre-cook. Frozen peas are cooked already, they just need to be heated.
AND EVERYTHING ELSE FOR NAVARIN
Garlic – Base aromatic flavour. Small thing but goes a long way.
Tomato paste – Adds body to the dish because of its concentration of flavour. Important ingredient to the sauce’s colour and balance.
Plain flour (all purpose) – For thickening the sauce.
White wine – You probably noticed by now, chardonnay is my favourite wine in the kitchen because of the flavours it add to dishes and it’s the one that I used the most during my restaurant days. We use it for deglazing here. There is no need to use an expensive wine, the flavour and aroma are largely lost during cooking. Substitute with low-sodium chicken stock for a non-alcoholic version.
Chicken stock – The best choice of stock here. It adds savouriness to the sauce without masking the flavour of the lamb, and after the long, slow cook, it certainly doesn’t taste “chickeny”. If you have homemade chicken stock, even better, it’ll take the sauce to another level and make your Lamb Navarin restaurant-quality.
I don’t recommend using powdered chicken stock, it wouldn’t do justice to a dish like this.
Thyme and bay leaves – Classic herb aromatics that you’ll find in many French recipes.
Salt – Used to season the lamb before browning and inside the stew. If you’ve only got table salt, halve the amount. For salt flakes, increase by 50%.
Black pepper – Cracked black pepper, the one we always use.
How to make Lamb Navarin
Classic slow-cooked oven method is used here. First, the lamb is well browned to build flavour, then the sauce is started by cooking the vegetables before adding wine, stock and herbs. After an hour in the oven, the vegetables are added and the stew is returned to gently braise until everything is beautifully tender.
1. MAKING THE STEW
Pat the lamb dry and season with salt.
Sear the lamb – Heat the oil in a heavy-based, oven-proof pot over high heat (mine is 24cm / 9.5″). Add 1/3 lamb and brown it well until deeply coloured all over (about 3 minutes). Remove, then repeat with remaining lamb. There will brown bits on the bottom of the pot and that’s where much of the flavour for the sauce comes from.
Once the lamb is browned, there’s no need to add any more oil. The lamb will have released plenty of its own fat, which is perfect for cooking the vegetables and building the flavour of the stew.
Onions – Turn the heat down to medium high and add the onions and cook until you get some nice golden patches, then set them aside in a separate bowl because these get added back into the stew partway through the slow cooking phase.
Carrot and garlic next – Add the carrots into the pot and stir for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and quickly cook for 20 seconds.
Add the tomato paste and stirring constantly, cook it for a minute. It removes the raw flavour, brings out its natural sweetness as well as adding its deep colour into the sauce.
Return the lamb to the pot with any juices collected on the tray. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute.
Pour the wine in then stir until the lamb is coated in a pale red, loose paste. At this point, the flour should be completely dissolved with no dry patches or lumps remaining before adding the stock.
Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir well until everything is combined. Now let the oven take over, the hard work is over. 😊
2. SLOW COOKING
First slow cook – Bring everything to a simmer. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan) for one hour. This gives the lamb a head start so it can begin to soften before adding the vegetables.
I prefer using the oven for slow cooked stews because everything cooks evenly and there’s no need to stir. If you don’t have an oven, you can slow cook on very low heat on the stove and be prepared to stir regularly and very carefully so the vegetables and lamb doesn’t break.
Add vegetables – Stir in the potatoes, turnips and onion, pushing them into the sauce as best you can. Don’t worry if a few pieces are still peeking above the surface, they’ll cook perfectly once the lid is back on.
This version uses sturdy vegetables that can handle the long braise. When this is made using delicate spring vegetables like asparagus and dutch carrots, they are cooked separately then stirred in towards the end as they are far too delicate to slow cook.
Slow cook part 2 – Cover and return the pot to the oven for another 1 1/2 hours. During this final braise, the lamb becomes beautifully fall-apart tender while the vegetables gently soften until they’re buttery and infused with all the flavours of the sauce.
Finish – Gently stir in frozen peas right at the end using a rubber spatula, then cover the pot for a couple of minutes so they warm through while keeping their bright colour. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt if needed before serving. Enjoy!
How to serve Lamb Navarin
Lamb Navarin is the kind of meal that makes everyone happy around the table. Rich, comforting and full of flavour, it’s a complete meal in itself but the truth is, it’s even better shared with a loaf of warm, crusty bread for mopping up the beautiful sauce. For me, it’s a must!
And if you want to make it even more substantial, serve it over steamed rice with a simple bistro salad. That’s how I sometimes enjoy it too. I am really curious to read your feedback if you happen to make it! Bon appétit! – JB
FAQ – Lamb Navarin
Lamb shoulder is my choice and the only cut I recommend here. It’s made for slow cooking and stays beautifully juicy. Avoid buying pre-cut lamb pieces. They’re usually too small and will become tender before the sauce has had time to fully develop its flavour and I don’t recommend lamb leg or other lean cuts as they tend to dry out.
Yes. Simply replace the plain flour with a good gluten-free plain flour blend. The flour is only there to lightly thicken the sauce, so the recipe works just as well.
Yes. Replace the wine with the same amount of non-alcohol wine. Or more low-sodium chicken stock. You’ll lose a little depth of flavour, but it will still be delicious.
Swede (rutabaga) is the best substitute. It has a slightly sweeter flavour and firmer texture, but becomes beautifully tender during the long cook. Or you can just add extras potatoes!
Absolutely! Like most stews, Lamb Navarin is even better the next day after the flavours have had time to mingle together. Cool, refrigerate overnight, then gently reheat over a low heat before serving.
Yes. Let it cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat on the stove. If the sauce has thickened, simply add a splash of water or stock to loosen it.
Watch How To Make It
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Lamb Navarin
Ingredients
BROWNING LAMB:
- 1.25kg / 2.75lbs boneless lamb shoulder , excess fat trimmed, cut into 5cm / 2" pieces (Note 1)
- 1 3/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt , (or half for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or other plain oil
STEW:
- 8 (500g/1lb) baby potatoes , peeled and cut in half
- 1 large turnip (~350g/12oz), peeled, cut into 8 wedges then cut each wedge in half (Note 4)
- 8 pearl onions or small round pickling onions , peeled (Note 5)
- 2 large carrots (~200g/7oz each), peeled, cut in half lengthways then into 2cm / 0.8" pieces
- 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chardonnay or any other dry white wine (Note 2)
- 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock /broth (low sodium) (Note 3)
- 1 tsp cooking / kosher salt , (or half for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 sprigs thyme , fresh (sub: 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 bay leaves , fresh (sub: dried)
- 1 cup frozen peas
For serving
- Warm crusty bread
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Season lamb. Brown in batches, remove. Brown onions, remove. Cook carrots 2 minutes, then garlic. Stir in tomato paste, 1 minute. Return lamb. Stir in flour, 1 minute. Add wine, then stock. Stir in salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves.
- Bring to a simmer. Cover and bake at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 1 hour. Stir in potatoes, turnips and onions. Cover and bake 1 1/2 hours. Stir in peas. Taste and add more salt if needed.
FULL RECIPE:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- Season lamb – Spread lamb out onto a tray. Pat dry with paper towels then sprinkle with salt.
- Brown lamb – Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot over high heat (mine is 24cm / 9.5"). Add 1/3 lamb and brown aggressively all over (about 3 minutes). Remove into tray, then repeat with remaining lamb.
- Brown onions – Turn the heat down to medium high and add the onions. Cook for 2 minutes stirring regularly until brown all over. Remove into a bowl.
- Sauté carrots & garlic – Add the carrot and cook for 2 minutes stirring regularly until it starts to soften. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Tomato paste and lamb – Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Add the lamb back in the pot including any juices that are on the tray. Stir to combine.
- Flour – Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Add wine and stock – Pour the wine, stir until the lamb is coated in a pale red, loose paste then add the stock and stir gently until combined.
- Seasoning – Add salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves and stir well.
SLOW-COOK:
- Oven 1 hour – Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven for 1 hour. (See note 6 for other cook methods)
- Potato, turnip & onions – Remove from the oven, stir in potato, turnip and onions. Submerge ingredients as best as you can, if some of the vegetables or meat are still peeking above the sauce, that's perfectly fine.
- Oven 1 1/2 hours – Cover with lid and return to the oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until the lamb is “fall-apart tender”.
- Peas – Add the frozen peas, stir VERY gently using a rubber spatula, cover and leave it for 2 minutes.
- Adjust salt – Remove from oven, taste sauce and add salt if needed. (Note 6)
- Leave overnight (optional) – If time permits, leave the stew overnight before serving. Like all good stews, the flavours only get better the next day. Reheat it gently over a low heat before serving.
- Serve – Serve hot with some warm crusty bread to soak up all that beautiful sauce! Enjoy! 😊
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Jaffle
Jaffle is still learning what goes on behind the scenes during our recipe shoots. Every new recipe is another chance to introduce him to the environment, the food we cook and all the excitement that comes with it. He was very curious about this Lamb Navarin and seemed quite impressed by the smell and he definitely wanted to know what was in the pot! Our future official taste tester is almost ready!
This was very, very tasty and thoroughly enjoyed by the family. The lamb! So, so delicious. A great winter warmer on a cold day.
Thanks Kellie! 🙂
WOW JB. Made this tonight on a very cold day in Victoria. Absolutely delicious. My fussy 11yr old told his father he wasn’t eating it and that I would make him a toastie 😂. I served it. He ate it. He loved it. I did leave out the turnip and wine and added extra potato and stock as per your suggestion. My family informed me that I will be making this again. Thank you JB.
Haha, how nice from your family to inform you that YOU will be making it again! I’m glad everyone loved it, thank you Sciona!
Hi JB, as with Nagi she is my go to each time and l will definitely be looking more at your recipes, absolutely loved this stew and have put it into my recipe tin. Thank you for another successful cook. I have never had a fail with anything from Redeipe Tin Eats. 🩵💙
Thank you for cooking our recipes Lorinda, it means so much 🙂
Stunning meal, perfect winter
Warmer! Thanks for yet another superb recipe!
You are welcome Amy, thanks!
Thanks, JB, this is delicious. Cooked it today and I’m planning to take it to work for lunch tomorrow and make everyone else jealous 😄 I’ve snuck more than a few bites already and the sauce is soooo good I kept some aside, buttered a sourdough roll and dunked it into the sauce for today’s lunch. Definitely will be making this again
Thank you Jayne for your lovely feedback and better not share with your workmates else they’ll ask you to cook for them!
When this arrived in my inbox on Friday I knew this would be Sunday’s lunch/dinner. This is JB’s lamb navarin that I’ve paired with risotto Milanese.
It’s absolutely delicious. I added a little more garlic (I always do!) and some Rosemary when I added the bay and thyme.
It’s been so long I’d forgotten how good turnip tastes and this goes down as one of the best stews I’ve ever eaten.
It also leaves the cook with 2/3 of a bottle of Chardonnay to enjoy during the cook. It’s a long cook, probably 3hrs 15 mins from start to finish, but it’s an easy cook, and one I will definitely make again.
I think there is an error in the nutrition information though, my fitness pal has it at 867 calories a portion.
One of the best you’ve ever had! Yes!! Thank you for this very informative feedback Niall. And yes, the nutrition information was wrong but I just fixed it 🙂
Made the meal, absolutely delicious. Slight modifications added a couple of teaspoons of sweet paprika and a can of champignons.
Hi Peter, I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you!
How would this go using a piece of chuck?
Hi Sharon, using beef chuck here would work but it won’t be a Navarin anymore 🙂
This was so delicious. I cooked it last night, and we had it with some crusty garlic bread. I didn’t have any tomato paste so used a can of tomatoes instead. Worked a treat.
Omg Jaffle is the cutest 😍
Thanks for giving it a go Sarah! Glad you loved it 🙂
Hello,
I think the nutrition information is wrong – the recipe says 5 servings and the nutritional information says “per serving”. It cannot be that a fifth of this recipe is just 169 calories, 7 grams of protein etc.
Hi Yael, thank you for pointing that out. I’ve just fixed it 🙂
I made this just now. It tastes absolutely sensational. When I put the potato, swede, and onions in and put the pot back in the oven for another 1.5 hours, when I came to take it out I realised that I had forgotten to put the lid back on. So I had a panic moment that I dried it all out and ruined it, but it turned out the gravy was a perfect level of thickness for what I like.
Hi Glen, so happy you loved it! Thank you for the feedback!
I love both turnips and lamb but have never seen a lamb shoulder in Texas. I’ll have to try to find it or may just give this a go with boneless leg of lamb.
Hi Vicki, I’m surprised to hear that lamb shoulder are hard to find over there. Be mindful that leg of lamb will be be drier than shoulder. Thank you for leaving a comment 🙂
Hey Vicki
Can you get lamb neck fillets where you are ?
I’ve always used this cut for lamb stews, curries, tagines etc as they have a marbling of fat that melts down over a couple of hours slow cooking and gives loads of flavour.
I haven’t made this Navarin yet (too hot for stews in the UK at the moment) but will do so in our autumn using neck fillets.
Fortuitously this landed in my inbox today and I decided to make it. Delicious. I followed the recipe pretty closely: the smallest lamb shoulder available was nearly 1.5 kg and I used it all, and then at the end I thickened it with a cornflour slurry because it was pretty watery when it came out of the oven. My wife didn’t like it as much as I did, so I may not make it again, which is a pity. I loved it.
Thanks Robin for making it, I really appreciate it! And great job adding cornflour 🙂
This looks lovely, can’t wait to try when our British summer heatwave is over and comfort food to warm us through time is here, so printed and in reserve folder for now!!
Thanks Jackie, I hope you aren’t suffering too much of the heat.
Stunning! Just out of the oven and it’s so, so good. Thank you!
Thank you Julietta! It looks really good, I saw it! 🙂
Another success! I followed the recipe meticulously except for replacing turnip with Swede. I had trouble keeping my husband away from the leftovers which I look forward to tomorrow night.
Haha, keeping people away from it might the hardest part of this recipe! Thank you!
It’s been so cold that this was the perfect weekend recipe. I used a rolled lamb shoulder roast, removed the string and chopped it up. Perfect! Followed the recipe to a tee. The lamb was tender and the chardy was an interesting touch rather than the usual red wine. 10 out of 10. Absolutely delicious. Our version of Jaffle heartily approves.
I have just made this. Planning on having for lunch tomorrow and freezing the remaining portions. But I had a sneaky taste of the gravy and it’s delicious! I used a Swede and pickling onions as I couldn’t find turnip or pearl onions. The real challenge was finding lamb shoulder. I found a bone-in lamb shoulder and this turned out to be the trickiest part of the day – so hard to debone! Hopefully will taste ok.
Hi Rachael, thank you for dropping a comment. Great job working around the fact that you couldn’t find a boneless shoulder. I’m all the hard work will be paid off with an excellent lunch!
Wow! What a sensational recipe like many of the others I have cooked🫶🏻
It will be marked as a favourite!
As you mentioned Nagi, pearl onions aren’t a common item on the shelves, so I peeled back several times (another cooking trick I’ve learnt from you!) Thanks again
Bon apetit
Thank you for the great feedback Hineaka!
Bonjour JB et Nagi. Merci beaucoup pour vos recettes. Je vais préparer navarin d’agneau quand nos amis viendront chez nous mardi prochaine. Je suis sûre que ce sera délicieux!!!
PS I hope my French doesn’t have too many mistakes!!!
Hi Chris, thank you for giving it a go so quick! Your French is perfect ♥️
This looks a great recipe but I am dealing with an allergic reaction to tomato. Is there any possible substitution for tomato paste.
Hi David, it’s not really French but you can replucate the umami and the dark colour with 2 tbsp of miso paste. If you do that reduce the salt in the stew by half (salt on lamb stays the same).