Our good friend, Dan, came over for a night of cooking a few weeks ago, and we made a delicious Parmesan Chicken with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers. It’s a blast to prepare a meal with another great cook, so we’ve been trying to get together for another night of fun in the kitchen. Crazy schedules have gotten in the way so far, but we’ll find a date soon.
Dan is a storehouse of culinary ideas, and recently he sent over a list of ingredients for a lamb stew that he thought might be fun to make together. I was so excited to taste the combination of flavors that I couldn’t wait to make it. He didn’t give me any quantities or proportions for the recipe so I decided to wing it. I’m proud to say the resulting stew was mouthwatering. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you Dan, but you get full credit for this recipe idea!
I’m a big fan of lamb. I know some people are somewhat afraid of it because they’ve never cooked it before or because it they think it’s “gamey”. I’m making the case for you all to be open minded about lamb and give it a try. It’s a very rich and flavorful meat, and it fits this stew wonderfully.
The texture of the chickpeas and pistachios; the sweetness of the apricots; the richness of the lamb; and some Moroccan-inspired spices make for a pretty awesome combination of ingredients. Toast some crusty bread to serve alongside and this stew is seriously the perfect dinner on a cold autumn night.
Ingredients
2 pounds lamb stew meat
1 teaspoon salt, separated
1 teaspoon black pepper, separated
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (omit for gluten-free)
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
6 ounces dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted, and roughly chopped pistachios
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
Instructions
1. Season lamb with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Brown lamb on all sides in 2 batches, leaving room between pieces. Remove from pan.
2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to Dutch oven. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until onions are translucent. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and chicken stock, stirring well. Add garbanzo beans, apricots, cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes until lamb is tender, stirring occasionally. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
4. To serve, ladle stew into bowls and garnish with pistachios and cilantro. Serve immediately.
https://southernboydishes.com/2014/11/11/lamb-stew-with-apricots-and-chickpeas/You may also like:
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What a fun way to get a new recipe! Great collaboration. I can see why you couldn’t wait to make this. This is an interesting and uniquely different list of ingredients especially for a lamb dish. We love lamb in this house, so I can see us giving this a try during these colder months. And let me add “What a beautiful stew!”
I love lamb, and it combines so well with garbanzo beans! This is a lovely combo, plus it looks so gorgeous! Fun dish — thanks.
I cannot wait to try this!!!
I adore lamb, and paired with apricots and spices, it’s divine. My husband, unfortunately, balks at lamb. Too bad. I’m going to make this, and I think he’d like it with all these great aromatics. Once again, another beautiful mouth watering photo/recipe.