Lamb stew with chickpeas! Spicy and warm. Perfect winter comfort food. Cinnamon, cumin, coriander and a dash of cayenne pepper.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Sometimes when you add a lot of spices to a dish, that’s all you can taste. But I have found that lamb is an ingredient that can use a lot of spice.
I find that the lamb shank, diced, makes the best stew. You don’t need a butcher for that: buy a boneless leg of lamb and cut it into cubes yourself.
Begin by slicing apart the smaller muscles that make up the leg – when you remove the leg from its wrapping you will see that these muscles are held loosely together and there are deep tears running between them. Separate these with your knife and follow these cracks. You’ll then have several smaller pieces that are easy to cut into stew chunks.
Add the browned onions and any spices to the pot along with the lamb cubes and place in the oven for a couple of hours.
This stew is rounded off with chickpeas, golden raisins and coriander, which give the dish the flavor of a classic Moroccan lamb tagine. The spices will soften as they cook, and the stew will be even better when you eat it a day or two later.
Spicy lamb stew with chickpeas
Instead of a leg of lamb, you can also buy pre-sliced lamb stew meat. However, it can be cut from tougher cuts of meat and may take longer to cook. Continue cooking the stew until the meat is tender.
Try adding a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt for a creamy finish!
ingredients
-
2 1/2 pounds (1.1 Kilo) boneless lamb legcords or nets removed
-
1 teaspoon (5G) Salt
-
1/2 teaspoon (2 1/2G) ground black pepper
-
2 sweet or spanish onions
-
4 tablespoons (60ml) olive oil
-
1 clove garlicchopped
-
2 shallotschopped
-
1 teaspoon (5G) Cinammon
-
1 teaspoon (5G) ground cumin
-
1 teaspoon (5G) ground coriander
-
1/2 teaspoon (2 1/2G) ground allspice
-
1/2 teaspoon (2 1/2G) cayenne pepper (skip this if you don’t like spicy food)
-
1 can (14 to 16 ounces, 475ml) whole peeled tomatoes crushed in a bowl or chopped tomatoes
-
2 cups (475ml) water
-
1 Bay leaf
-
1/2 cup (75G) golden raisins
-
2 cans (15 ounces or 420Geveryone) Chickpeasdrained
-
1/4 cup (5G) fresh corianderchopped
method
-
Preheat the oven to 325F
-
Cut the lamb into pieces:
Remove the packaging and trim excess fat from the outside of the lamb. Open the leg so you can see where the bone was removed, then follow the deep cracks that run between the muscles to separate the leg into smaller pieces.
Cut each of these smaller pieces into roughly 3-inch pieces for the stew. You may have some smaller or larger pieces; that’s okay. Sprinkle the meat all over with salt and black pepper.
-
Brown the Lamb:
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook without disturbing for 3 minutes. Don’t overfill the pan; work in batches if necessary. The meat may be sticky at first, but will come off easily after a few minutes. Flip and brown the other sides for a further 3 minutes. Pour the meat into a bowl.
-
While the lamb is browning, prepare the onions:
Cut off any stringy roots from the bulbs, leaving the solid root centers intact. Halve the onions from tip to root. Peel off the papery outer layers of skin. Cut each half into a few wedges and slice through the root to keep the wedges intact.
-
Cooking onions:
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and add the wedges, cutting sides down and pressing together as tightly as possible. Brown for 2 minutes, then flip and brown the other sides for another 2 minutes. Try to keep the splines intact as you turn. Pour into the bowl with the roasted meat.
-
Put the spices in the pan:
Add the garlic, shallots, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and allspice to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 minute longer or until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the water and scrape off any browned bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan.
-
Braise the Lamb:
Return the meat and onions to the pan and stir into the liquid. Add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
Cover the pan and put in the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
-
Add raisins and chickpeas to the stew:
Stir gently so that some of the chickpeas are submerged in the liquid.
Cover and return to the oven. Continue cooking for 30 minutes, or until lamb is very tender and easily pierced with a fork. If necessary, cook for an additional 30 minutes until lamb is tender.
-
Serve lamb:
Taste the cooking juices for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaf. Sprinkle the dish with coriander just before serving.
The stew can also be chilled and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat over low heat or in a low oven before serving.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 871 | calories |
| 44g | Fat |
| 59g | carbohydrates |
| 62g | protein |
