Lamb and Mint Pie

Pre heat a slow cooker or the oven to 180, chop and peel onions carrots and crush garlic, prep boquet garni. 

Dust meat in flour, and brown in a separate pot with a little bit of olive oil. Add meat into your cast iron pot (if cooking in the oven) or a slow cooker.

In the same pot the meat was cooked in, add the chopped carrots and onions and cook until golden brown, add the garlic and cook for another minute. 

Add the cooked vegetables into the cast iron pot or slow cooker, on top of the meat.

Deglaze the pot with the stock, and tinned tomatoes.

Add bouquet garni and potatoes into the pot.

Top the cast iron pot or slow cooker up with boiling water until everything is covered. 

If using the cast iron pot, heat on the stove on high for 20 min then place in the oven for another 2 hrs to cook slowly on 180ºC

If using the slow cooker, cook for 2 hrs on high, and another 1-2 hrs on low until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the bones and thicken the stew with adding brown onion soup by sprinkling it over the top and then mixed in slowly. Stir in the mint as a last stew once the mix has cooled slightly. You can stop here and serve this dish as a lamb stew. 

Transfer the stew to a bake proof dish, and top with rolled pastry and bake for 15min- 20min on 220 until pastry is golden brown.

Pie filling can be made in advance and topped with pastry and refrigerated, or individual pies can be made and frozen.