Bowls of COMFORT - Lamb Knuckle & Cabbage Stew

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Sometimes, it is the simplest dishes which are the most tasty... and this occasion was no exception. It was rainy and cold here in Cape Town - it has been like that a lot lately lol... and I was LAZY lol... so I decided to make something easy! Lamb knuckles have got to be one of my absolute favourites, especially the end of the meal when you get to suck all the marrows out of the bones. My son refers to this meal as "sucky bones" hahaha!

A simple set of ingedients... two packs of lamb knuckles (or one pack of lamb knuckles and one pack of stewing lamb) if that suits the budget better. Lamb is RIDICULOUSLY expensive here in SA. A few pickling onions - or two traditional onions - I just happened to have pickling onions lying around that needed to be used. A pack of brown onion soup powder, half a fresh cabbage and of course... some fresh mint - because what is lamb without mint!

And just a note: If lamb is not an option, this can quite easily be substituted with chicken - because believe it or not... whilst not very common, chicken and mint also go really well together! Well, I think so anyway! And if you are not a meat eater, then just drop the meat entirely and perhaps add some mushrooms - it really doesn't matter, because the brown onion soup makes everything taste amazing.

So first off you need heat a deep pan or pot with a little olive oil (preferably) but traditional cooking oil will suffice. Then saute your onions for a few minutes and then add the lamb and seal it.

Once you have done that, add the handful of chopped mint. Then add the packet of brown onion soup with about a litre of water - I am truly lazy - I don't even mix them together first haha... people are often concerned with powder lumps but the reality is that once the pot gets boiling they all pop and disappear anyway. Once you have done that, you can add the diced cabbage, a little chicken stock if you like and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring it to the boil for a few minutes and then lower the heat and pop on the lid. The longer you leave it the better (in my opinion) but an hour should suffice if you are short on time. If you can, after that hour, place the heat on minimal and leave it for an hour or two. Towards the ends, I always add some frozen peas on the top - so they cook "just perfectly" and pop in your mouth! Because again... lamb without peas... EISH! haha!

The brown onion soup acts as a thickener all on it's own so I often don't bother adding anything additional to that - but if you want a really rich and filling experience, then add a 250ml tub of cream just after you lower the heat from the boil. That's it - a simple but REALLY great tasting bowl of comfort! Enjoy!