German Lamb & Green Bean Stew

This dish is a "stew," of sorts, as in German it is called by various names, including: "Lammeintopf or Lammtopf mit grünen Bohnen" (Lamb Stew with Green Beans). An "Eintopf," sometimes used in the shorter form, "Topf," is a stew, or more literally, a "one pot" meal. This is more generally from the north of Germany, where sheep are "fairly" commonly raised in some parts. Other names for the dish may use, "Hammel" or "Hammelfleisch" in the name, which really means "mutton;" that is, the meat from a somewhat older sheep. If you use mutton, it likely will take a little longer to cook and the meat has a stronger taste. 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds lamb, cut into bite sized pieces (if you find lamb stew meat, it should be about perfect)
2 large onions, chopped
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut in half or into thirds, your preference
4 potatoes, diced (or about 10 or 12 baby red potatoes halved or quartered)
2 tablespoons savory leaves
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
water (see below)

In a pot, place the lamb and onions, pour in enough water to cover by just a little bit. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat (I used medium low), so that the ingredients simmer. Let cook for about 30 to 35 minutes, then add the potatoes, the thyme, the savory and the pepper. Cook about another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are softened, but not quite done. It's best to check the potatoes after about 10 minutes, and then judge how much longer they may need to cook. Add the green beans. Cook until the beans are tender, by which time the potatoes should be done. Season with some salt and add the parsley, stirring well.    

WORD HISTORY:
Green-This word, closely related to "grow" and to "grass," goes back to Indo European "gherh/ghreh," which meant "to grow." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "grohnja," with the notion of "grow out green," as our ancestors identified what would become the color, from the idea of most growing plants being that color. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "grene" and "groene," depending upon dialect. These eventually became "green." The other Germanic languages have: German "grün," Low German Saxon has "gröön," West Frisian "grien," Dutch "groen," Danish "grøn," Norwegian "grønn," Icelandic "grænn," Swedish "grön."