Lamb · Slow cooker adaptation

Gennaro's Italian Lamb Stew (Slow Cooker)

Gennaro Contaldo's Malta-shot lamb stew, all anchovies, garlic and white wine on the hob. Adapted for the slow cooker so the same shoulder, the same odore, can stew across the day instead of an hour.

R By Richard · Adapted from Jamie Oliver · Published 10 June 2026
👁 1.2M source views ❤️ 17.8k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 7 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 4
Gennaro's Classic Italian Lamb Stew

Source video by Jamie Oliver on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Gennaro Contaldo cooks this on the hob in Malta for the Jamie Oliver Food Tube channel. Shoulder of lamb is seasoned, browned with anchovies and olive oil, then stewed with carrots, onions, garlic, half a chilli and white wine. Potatoes, cherry tomatoes and 250 ml of stock go in for a second cook; frozen peas drop in near the end and chopped celery leaves finish. Adapted for the slow cooker, the same one-pot logic stretches across the day on Low.

Slow cooker notes: Original is a one-pot hob cook. For the slow cooker: brown the seasoned lamb with the anchovies and olive oil in a frying pan first (don't skip; this is where the lamb gets colour and the anchovies dissolve). Tip everything else in at the same time and let the slow cooker do the work. Potatoes and cherry tomatoes go in at the start in the slow cooker rather than mid-cook. Frozen peas stir in for the last 30 minutes so they keep their colour. Celery leaves and a slick of olive oil finish at the table.

Ingredients

Lamb
  • 1 kglamb shoulder, cut into chunks
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • anchovy fillets
Veg
  • carrots, skin on, cut into chunks
  • 2onions, roughly chopped
  • 2garlic cloves, pressed, peeled
  • 0.5fresh red chilli, broken or chopped
Liquid
  • white wine
  • white wine vinegar
Second stage
  • 3potatoes, cut into chunks
  • cherry tomatoes
  • 250 mlstock
Finish
  • frozen peas (add late)
  • celery leaves, finely chopped (add late)
  • extra virgin olive oil (add late)

Method

  1. Tip the lamb chunks into a bowl. Season with a small pinch of salt and pepper, a generous slick of extra virgin olive oil and the anchovy fillets. Mix to coat.

    ~5 min

  2. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add the lamb (with the anchovies) and sear all over, stirring until the anchovies melt and the lamb has a deep brown colour all around.

    ~8 min

  3. Tip the seared lamb (with all the pan juices and dissolved anchovies) into the slow cooker.

    ~1 min

  4. Add the chunked carrots, chopped onions, pressed garlic, half a chilli, a splash of white wine and a small splash of white wine vinegar.

    ~3 min

  5. Add the chunked potatoes, cherry tomatoes and 250 ml of stock. Stir once. A small pinch of salt and pepper for the potatoes.

    ~3 min

  6. Lid on. Cook on Low for 7 hours (or High 4 hours).

    ~420 min

  7. Stir in the frozen peas. Lid back on for the last 30 minutes.

    ~30 min

  8. Scatter finely chopped celery leaves over the top and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with Maltese bread or any crusty loaf.

    ~2 min

Frequently asked

Can I use leg of lamb instead of shoulder?
Yes. Gennaro says so on camera: 'I've done with the shoulder, but you can do with the leg.' Shoulder is more forgiving over a long, slow cook because of its higher fat content.
Why anchovies in a lamb stew?
They melt into the sear, season the lamb without tasting fishy, and lift the whole pot with savoury depth. Don't skip them.
Half a chilli sounds vague. How much heat does that give?
Gennaro tests it by breaking and smelling: 'Oh, this is strong.' Half a fresh red chilli across four servings is gentle background heat. Use a whole one if you want more, or skip if you're cooking for kids.
Do I have to brown the lamb first?
Yes. The brown crust is most of the flavour, and the anchovies need that heat to melt. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so the colour and depth has to be built before the lamb goes in.
Extraction notes (transparency): Many quantities not stated in the transcript. Lamb shoulder inferred at 1 kg from Gennaro's line 'two onions should be enough for 1 kilo of meat'. Anchovies, olive oil, carrots, white wine, white wine vinegar, cherry tomatoes, frozen peas and celery leaves all left as quantity null because they were not stated. Two onions, two cloves of garlic, half a chilli (for 4 people), three potatoes and 250 ml of stock are explicit. Servings inferred at 4 from the 'for four people, half chilli' line.