My family in the South is stingy with recipes. Most of the time, we would beg family members to make their specialty for us to enjoy since they wouldn’t share the recipe. My Aunt Babe made the best Tatah Puddin (sweet potato pudding), my mom makes the best macaroni & cheese and she also makes a mean nut bread. Sometimes we’d pick the pecans for the nut bread from a neighbor’s tree. No one can make a red velvet cake like my Aunt Catherine. I think they hoarded the recipes and enjoyed having us praise them for a dish that they made better than others in the family. Truth be told, they rarely measured and always cooked to taste. So, I’ll have to tell you that the recipe for the lamb stew that I’m sharing is super close to the measurements but really based on taste or the mood I’m in. I might add a dash more cayenne pepper if I’m feeling sassy or more dried apricots if I want more sweetness in my life. I’m a big fan of the flavor and I’ve taken a real liking to spices like ginger and coriander. I enjoy combining pepper and sweet foods like dates and apricot. I’ve made this Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stew a few times and my favorite part is adding the spice and the wine to the stew.
With a glass of wine in hand, I have so much fun smelling the ingredients and cooking. The wine I selected to pair with this dish is Frichette’s Red Mountain Malbec. Malbec has dark fruit flavors like black plum and cherry and spice including pepper, subtle cinnamon and nutmeg. The body is medium-plus and the finish is dark and fruity with rounded tannin. Since this wine has multiple layers of flavor, it pairs naturally with this dish. Enjoy!
Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stew with Frichette Red Mountain Malbec
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons coriander
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds lamb stew meat
2 tablespoons olive oil,
1 large brown onion, diced
2 large carrots, cut in 2-inch chunks
1 sweet potato, cut in chunks
1 Yukon gold potato, cut in chunks
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried dates
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
2 cups dry red wine
Bay leaf
Parsley for garnish, finely chopped
Instructions:
Heat oven to 370 degrees
Coat lamb stew meat with flour
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat and brown lamb stew meat on all sides. Transfer lamb to a bowl. Reduce heat and coat Dutch over with a little more olive oil.
Add garlic, onion, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Mix well and coat onion. Add carrots. Saute for 4 min or until onion is soft and one side of the carrot is browned.
Add broth, wine, tomato paste, and garbanzo beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
Stir in sweet potato, Yukon gold potato, apricots, dates and cherry tomatoes. Add bay leaf.
Put in the oven and cook for 2 hours. After two hours, remove from the oven and remove bay leaf. Garnish with parsley.
I enjoy this with toasted baguette or naan. Pairing it with our Red Mountain Malbec is perfect. It is great as leftovers.