Braised Lamb Stew

[fitfool]

Chilly morning today. Frost tinged windows and just 35F outside. ugh. Oh the plus side, this means the heat from the oven is a welcomed additional source of heat!

Took me a while to gather all the ingredients for this one and even longer to cook but it was worth it to me! After reading the comments on the recipe, I decided to add extra vegetables. My hunk of leg of lamb had a bone in it so I cut around the bone and included the bone in the stew for the cooking portion. I let the lamb pieces marinate for about an hour and then ended up cooking for a lot longer (another 1-1.5 hours?) because I wanted the meat to be melting tender and I was working on something else anyways while the stew cooked. By the time I took it off the heat, the meat slipped right off the bone with just a prod from a wooden spatula. I'm really looking forward to making this dish again. Really nice to have the leftovers on hand for an easy meal to reheat.

Braised Lamb Stew

Cook Time: 2 hours
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

For the lamb:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder or boneless leg of lamb, 1 1/2-inch cubes

For the stew:
1 onion, cut into 1-inch cubes [used 2 onions]
3 carrots, roughly diced [I used 6 carrots]
3 cloves garlic, minced [used 3 cloves and would've used more if I hadn't run out of garlic]
1 tablespoon ginger, minced [I didn't measure the ginger and think I had a little more]
1 tablespoon tomato paste [Used 4 Tbsp tomato sauce since I had no tomato paste]
1 (14.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1 lemon, zested
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dried apricots [used 1/2 cup dried peaches cut into chunks]
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cardamom and salt. Mix well until the mixture has turned into a paste, if the paste is too thick add a little more olive oil. Add the cubed lamb to the bowl and toss around to coat well. Cover and set aside.
   
   
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb.
   
   
3. Add onions and carrots to the pot and sweat for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and chick peas, then return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken stock, apricots, and honey.
   
   
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is tender. Sprinkle the stew with chopped fresh cilantro and serve right out of the pot. [I had let it cook an extra 1-1.5 hours while I worked on something else to let the lamb get really tender.]
   

Original recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/braised-lamb-stew-recipe4/index.html
Recipes written by Danny Boome - All rights reserved by Crash Bang Boome Production LLC
Show: Rescue Chef Episode: One Pot Meal