Stop 3 - France (Provence)

In this culinary trip around the globe, i decided that one needed to be done via the slow cooker.  There really something to having your dinner ready the second you walk in the door, isn’t there?  Last summer my low cooker (crock pot) got a major workout along with the grill.  The problem I found though is that boneless, skinless chicken breasts really didn’t work for us.  The meat was rubbery and never really held the flavor of the ingredients in there.  Now beef, I’ve never had issues with.  It’s only been chicken.  Chicken with bone in/skin on does ok, but I still wasn’t a big fan of it.  But being adventurous as always, I decided to give it a new lease on life.

I wanted to add some lamb to the rota.  We’ve been eating a fair amount of lamb recently and I’ve really grown to like it.  I found the perfect trial recipe for the slow cooker attempt - Lamb Stew Provencal from my 200 Low Carb Slow Cooker recipe book.  The only thing in there that I wasn’t sure of was the fennel.  I’d never had fennel before so I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not, but why not give it a go.  This morning was the “dump and go” maneuver.

It was extremely tasty!  The lamb fell off the bones, the veggies were all done and the sauce was thick enough that I didn’t even bother trying t thicken it more.  The one thing I will say is that this is one of those stick to your rib stews, so I wouldn’t want it if I was in the mood for a light dinner or during the hottest part of summer.  This is the perfect cold, rainy night meal.  One note - make sure you know how big your crock pot is!!  I only had 2.5 lbs (including bones) of meat and it *barely* fit.  Feel free to adjust the recipe to your slow cooker

Lamb Stew Provencal

3 lbs (1.5 kg) lamb stew meat (I did bone in shoulder, but go for the cubed, deboned meat)

3 Tbsp (45 milliliters) olive oil

1 whole fennel bulb, sliced lengthwise

1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise

4 cloves of garlic, crushed (I did 6 and sliced)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried rosemary, whole needles


15 oz (425 grams) canned black soybeans, drained (I used a cup dried black beans due to the soy allergy.  You can use canned beans if you want.)

1 cup beef broth (Again, I substituted chicken both (that’s what I had on hand) with a gf “beef” vegan bouillon cube and some red wine)

1 tsp chicken bouillon concentrate (this got left out - didn’t see the point since I was already using chicken broth and added a large bouillon cube already)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried majoram


1/2 tsp dried savory

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Guar or xantham (if needed)

Season the lamb with salt and pepper.  In a heavy skillet, heat the oil and brown the lamb on all sides over medium-high heat.

Place the fennel, onion, and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker, Add bay leaf and rosemary.  Dump the beans (whichever you are using) on top of that.  When the lamb is browned, put it on top of the veggies.

Add the one cup broth to the pan to get all those nice browned lamb bits off the bottom.  Transfer that to a bowl and stir in the bouillon, and the herbs.  Pour the mixture over the lamb.  Cover, set to low and let it cook for 8-9 hours.

When it’s done, (if needed) thicken the liquid to the texture of heavy cream with the guar or xantham.

Tomorrow we are setting off to Vietnam.  I’ve already got the chicken marinating and the dipping sauce is all prepared.  All I have to do tomorrow is cook the chicken and prep the salad.  Man, when did I get so organised?