Moroccan Lamb Stew

Hamburgers are great. So is barbecued chicken, and spaghetti. But sometimes it just gets, so boring.  Enter this dish…Moroccan Lamb Stew. This savory sweet stew is just the thing to break out of the dinnertime doldrums. .

Special Ingredients

• Lamb
• Apricots
• Raisins
• Dates
• Cinnamon

What makes this dish special is that the lamb is stewed with fruit, nuts, and spices. Apricots, raisins, prunes. Blanched almonds. Cinnamon and nutmeg. They all converge in one pot to create something that, is exotic without being pretentious, interesting, and completely satisfying.

First, I marinated the lamb overnight in a spice rub. Next day, I fried it up with cinnamon sticks  in a little olive oil, a few batches at at time. I set the browned pieces aside on a plate until all the lamb was browned.

Then, I made the beef broth. While that was on the back burner, I sautéd the onion and garlic. Then, added back the meat, and added the beef broth. I brought it to a boil, reduced heat, covered and cooked for 1.5 hours.

At this point, the house smelled AMAZING. I pretended I was in a Moroccan riad with the sound of lute music and a water fountain  in the background. Just kidding.

(No, I’m not.)

After about 1.5 hours I added the chopped carrots, fruit, and almonds, then let it simmer some more, with the cover off so that the juices reduced.

The lamb became so tender, it started to fall off the bone. Then, the sugars in the fruit started to release and sweeten the broth. The spices became intensified. After about 3 hours cooking, the result was unlike anything I’ve ever made before.

Serving Suggestions

• Couscous
• Roasted cauliflower

I served it with some couscous and roasted cauliflower, and counted myself lucky to have sampled a little taste of Morocco.

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Moroccan Lamb Stew

Lamb stew is no longer basic when upscaled with eight different spices, dried fruit and nuts to make for a mouth-watering, tender stew that is delicious.

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Four to Cook For

Equipment

• 6-quart Dutch oven

Ingredients

• 3 pounds lamb shoulder

Dry Rub

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Stew

• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup dried apricots chopped
• 1 cup prunes chopped
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup blanched almonds chopped
• 2 cups carrots chopped
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped

Instructions

• Mix all the dry rub spices, oil and water in a bowl. Add lamb and make sure everything is covered. Then put in a gallon freezer bag, seal, and marinade overnight (or at least 5 hours).
• Next day, heat the Dutch oven over medium heat. Drizzle with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and saute the lamb and cinnamon sticks. Remove the meat when browned.
• Heat up the broth in a separate saucepan and leave on back burner to keep warm.
• In the Dutch oven, saute chopped onions and garlic. Then, add back meat.
• Add the broth and bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Add carrots, fruit and nuts. Simmer for another 1 1/2 hours, uncovered until the broth reduces to your liking.
• Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or tag @fourtocookfor and hashtag #fourtocookfor on Instagram.

Recipe adapted from the cookbook, Mediterranean Palo Cooking by Diane Sanfilippo.