There is nothing better than a delicious bowl of soup to soothe the soul. On a hot or cold day, soup always brings such comforting feelings. It’s also very versatile and any ingredient pretty much goes. This is great for those times when your pantry is looking a little sparse. One of my favorite soups is Navajo mutton stew. Because it is one of those cherished meals that is made from the heart.  However, I haven’t always been a fan of mutton stew and didn’t fully appreciate it until I left home for college. After finishing my first semester of college, there was nothing I wanted more than shimá’s (my mom) mutton stew. Since then it has always been a welcome back home treat.
I recently spent a week back home in New Mexico and on my last day of my trip my mom wanted to make sure I had mutton stew. Even though I can technically make mutton stew whenever I want in Phoenix, nothing compares to my mom cooking. I will never say no, to my momma’s cooking and I thought it would be a good opportunity to capture her magic cooking. I made her nervous by taking pictures of her preparing the ingredients for the stew. Usually I am asking her to take MY picture, but this time SHE was the subject. She fumbled around with her ingredients, and I put her at ease when I told her that I wouldn’t be taking pictures of her face. We both laughed as I asked her to hold a pose with her hands as she gracefully diced up a carrot.
Ever since I was little, I have always been intrigued by my mom’s cooking. If you read my Fancy Navajo Magic Bread blog post, then you know that my mom is a magician. She cooks with such ease and rarely uses a measuring cups/spoons. In fact, they are on the highest shelf in a corner cabinet of her kitchen. Everything is measured from memory and love. So, it was fun asking her to guess the measurements of what she was putting into her soup and we had to make educated guesses. I would make her laugh, by purposefully repeating the incorrect measurements back to her to see if she would catch the absurdities. She agreed to using 10lbs of mutton and 5 onions, but later said huh?? What? That’s not what I said.
I’ve noticed recently I have become more confident in my cooking and I rarely measure ingredients like my momma. As a perfectionist, when I started learning how to cook, I disliked not knowing how much of an ingredient was going into a recipe. I would stress when I didn’t have the exact amount and was always worried the recipe wouldn’t turn out well. Which is why I struggled with making tortillas for such a long time. Over the years, I have learned to not be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. Honestly some of the best meals I have ever cooked were made on the fly. But it also makes it really difficult to share recipes when you all ask.
It really is magic and that’s what I love about cooking. You really can’t mess it up if you are paying attention and being smart about it. It’s all about common sense and cooking from the soul. Which is why I get so surprised when people request soup recipes for comfort foods like mutton stew. It really is a no brainer, boil water meat and vegetables. That’s it. You can get fancy by adding spices and broths. But Navajo mutton stew has always been a simple dish.
So here is the recipe I pieced together with my mom a few weeks ago. Please keep in mind this recipe is meant feed at 8-10 people which is a larger portion than what I normally share on my blog. Please adjust to your likings. Don’t be afraid to experiment and add your own twist. Make it YOUR recipe. Happy cooking friends!
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Fancy Navajo Mutton Stew Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8-10 cups of Water or Vegetable Broth
- 2.5 lbs of Mutton backbone or 2lbs of Cubed Mutton Stew Meat
- 3 Large Carrots diced
- 3 Medium Russet Potatoes diced
- 4 Celery Stalks diced
- 1 Large Onion diced
- Half a cabbage diced
- 1 cup of fresh corn kernels
- Seasonings: ½ tablespoon Garlic Salt and ½ teaspoon Pepper
- Option: Diced Jalapeno Â
Instructions:
- In a large crockpot add broth or water and season with garlic salt and pepper.
- Add in meat
- Add in chopped vegetables
- Cook on high in a crockpot for 4-6 hours or until meat is tender and falling off the bone
