🍲 Warming Lamb Stew Recipe

published 1 YEAR AGO | 4 MINS READ

And because we're TCM practitioners, we like to live in harmony with the seasons, just like Qi Bo said we should.

So for cold weather, that means eating warm foods like soups and stews, and using warming ingredients and spices.

This is a recipe for lamb stew that I like. Not only is lamb a warming meat, it also uses warming herbs like cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and cumin.

Lamb and Prune Stew

This is a recipe I found in a cooking magazine a while ago. Their website doesn't exist anymore, so I don't think they'll mind if I copy it here.

If you've ever made a beef stew before, you may be familiar with the basic method: you brown some stew beef, cook some onions, deglaze the pan with red wine (or a stout beer), then simmer the whole thing for a few hours.

This lamb stew isn't much different.

Instead of beef we're using lamb. And instead of deglazing with wine or beer, we're using a hard apple cider. 🍎

With beef stew, you usually add herbs like rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Well here, we're using warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and turmeric. There's also prunes that give it some nice sweetness.

So in the end, we have a warming stew that has all five flavors.

Some Notes:

  • In my grocery store, they had packaged "lamb for stew." If you can't find that, you can get lab shoulder or lamb leg and cut it into pieces.
  • Lamb is expensive near me, so I did half lamb and half beef for stew. Or you can just use all beef and I think it's still good.
  • I've never been able to find fresh pearl onions, but they do have them in the frozen vegetable section. So it's easy to just get a package and not have to peel them
  • I've also added potatoes and it was good.
  • This recipe assumes you have an enameled cast-iron pot that can go in the oven. If you don't, you can just simmer it on the stove, or you can put it in a slower cooker or probably use an insta-pot.

     

The Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 lb. boneless lamb shoulder or leg, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1- 1/2- to 2-inch pieces
  • 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 to 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup hard cider
  • 2-1/2 cups beef broth
  • 2-1/2 cups peeled pearl onions
  • 2-1/2 cups 1-inch carrot pieces
  • 1 cup prunes, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 325℉
  2. Spread the lamb on paper towels to dry for 10 to 20 minutes before browning. Season with salt and pepper. I also like to dust them with a little bit of flour
  3. Heat oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot. Working in batches, brown the lamb on at least four sides. Do not overcrowd the pot. Each batch should take about ten minutes to brown. Transfer meat into a bowl or rimmed baking sheet.
  4. Add more oil if needed, and add in diced onion (you can have diced carrot and celery too, like French people do). Season with salt and pepper and cook 5-6 min. Stir in ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon and cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant (1-2 minutes).
  5. Add the hard cider, stirring with a wooden spatula to dissolve the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil to reduce by half, 5-8 minutes. Add the beef broth and 1-1/2 cups water. Return to boil.
  6. Return meat to pot with any accumulated juices. Cover and put in the oven. (If you pot isn't oven safe, just simmer it on the stove, or transfer to a slow-cooker).
  7. After one hour of stewing, add pearl onions, carrot pieces, and diced prunes. Cover and return to oven.
  8. Continuing stewing for 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours until meat is fork-tender.
  9. Stir in parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.