New York ? Irish or no, at this time of year hearty lamb and vegetable stew, freshly baked soda bread or buttered fruit bread with your cup of tea are heartwarming concepts even to call to mind — let alone actually cook.

Although they can seem a feast, these are simple dishes, forgiving for the occasional cook and not calling for fancy ingredients. The stews and breads come from a country tradition, often based on local meat and vegetables, or basic products from a country store.

Take the stew. Terry Condon, general manager at Gallagher’s Steak House in New York City, is an Irish-American whose family originally hails from County Cork in Ireland. He relishes Irish lamb stew, he says, because besides the local meat it probably started with, “it is made with a bevy of the flavorful root vegetables which grow so abundantly in Ireland.”

And it’s so easy for the home chef to make. “Once everything is on the top of the stove, it simmers for hours, and only needs an occasional stir,” Condon points out.

Terry Condon’s Irish lamb stew

2 pounds boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, sliced

2 leeks, sliced thin

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 bottle of red wine to cover (see note)

14 1/2-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, crushed

4 carrots, quartered

10 baby Yukon Gold potatoes

2 stalks celery, quartered

2 parsnips, quartered

2 cups chicken stock, if needed (see note)

10-ounce package frozen green peas

Few sprigs parsley

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Lightly flour the lamb, season to taste with salt and pepper; brown the meat on all sides in olive oil in a large, lidded saucepan. Remove meat.

Saute the onions, leeks and garlic in the same oil until translucent. Return lamb to the saucepan, cover with the red wine and half the canned tomatoes, crushed. Bring to full boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer fully covered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Add carrots, potatoes, celery, parsnips and rest of tomatoes, crushed (and chicken stock if needed) to the lamb; add salt to season the vegetables to taste; bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Add peas, parsley and thyme, and cook for final 10 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Note: You may use whatever wine you would drink with the meal. If you need additional liquid to cover, use chicken stock.