Instant Pot Cretan Lamb Stew

• Protein
• 1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder, 4–5cm dice
• Aromatics
• 3 brown onions, halved & sliced (or 500g pearl onions, whole)
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• Braise
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 400g tin crushed tomatoes
• 250ml dry red wine
• 250ml beef stock (or water + 1 tbsp stock powder)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp honey
• Aromatic bundle
• 1 cinnamon quill (or ½ tsp ground)
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 strip lemon peel (no pith)
• Finish
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt to taste · parsley · feta to serve

Serves 8 (4 × 2-serve freezer portions)

1. Salt the lamb — 10 min ahead. Pat dry, season generously with salt. Dry surface = better sear.
2. Sear in batches — Instant Pot on Sauté (high). 1 tbsp EVOO. Sear lamb in three batches, ~3 min each — colour on two sides only, don't crowd. Move to a bowl.
3. Onions — Remaining EVOO, then onions. Sauté 5–6 min until softening and picking up the fond. Garlic in the last 30 seconds.
4. Tomato paste — Stir through and let it darken, ~1 min.
5. Deglaze — Pour in the red wine. Scrape the bottom thoroughly with a wooden spoon — any stuck fond will trigger the burn warning. Reduce by half, ~2 min.
6. Build the braise — Add crushed tomatoes, stock, vinegar, honey, cinnamon, cloves, bay, oregano, rosemary, pepper, lemon peel. Stir. Return lamb & juices. Liquid should reach ⅔ up the meat — top up with water if not.
7. Pressure cook — Cancel sauté. Lid on, valve sealed. High pressure 35 minutes. Natural release 15 min, then quick release the rest.
8. Reduce — Fish out cinnamon, cloves, bay, lemon peel. Sauté (high), uncovered, 8–12 min, stirring, until sauce coats a spoon. Skim any pooled fat.
9. Finish — Off heat, lemon juice, taste for salt. Parsley & crumbled feta if serving now.

• Lamb shoulder, not leg — leg goes stringy under pressure; shoulder stays unctuous.
• Cool fast for the freezer — spread into a wide tray for 30 min before portioning to get past the danger zone quickly.
• Portion into 4 × ~500g 2-serve containers or zip bags. Freeze flat for fastest thaw & best stacking. Label with date.
• Keeps 4 days fridge, 3 months freezer. Tastes better day 2 — cook ahead for guests.
• Reheat from frozen — thaw overnight in fridge, gentle simmer with a splash of water, 8–10 min. Or microwave with a damp paper towel, stirring every 90 sec.
• Stifado mode — swap sliced onions for 500g whole peeled pearl onions, add at the braise step.
• Burn warning = tomato stuck on the bottom. The wine deglaze is the fix — scrape until the base is clean before anything else goes in.
• No red wine? Use all stock + an extra tbsp red wine vinegar. Less depth but still good.