The Background
This Moroccan Lamb Stew was the product of an adventure through the pantry, refrigerator, and spice cabinet… and it turned out AMAZING! Talk about a departure from the ordinary. This recipe provides an opportunity to break away from the norm and your palate will thank you.
We have a love affair with cuisines that go all-in on flavor with a laundry list of herbs and spices. You’ll likely notice that trend throughout the blog. However, we also value a level of simplicity because there are other things to do in life than spending it in the kitchen!
Have No Fear…
Sometimes casual cooks shy away from meals with extensive ingredient lists. Trust us, take this journey with us, and you will find more ingredients doesn’t always mean increased difficulty. Besides, getting out of your comfort zone is rarely a bad thing.
Other recipes in this vein that might also pique your interest while allowing you to dip your toe in the water with shorter ingredient lists:
Cornish Hen with a Moroccan Twist
A Quick Digression… Parsnips?
We make it a point when roaming the produce section to grab an item we don’t use often (or sometimes ever!). Think of it as an endless quest to expand our horizons. After all we are much more like you than the chefs you see on TV.
On a recent occasion – and with no plan in mind – we grabbed some parsnips, those cream-colored carrot looking things that one might very easily mistake for a large white carrot. We’ve seen the flavor described as everything from a sweeter, nuttier carrot to its spicy, more vibrant cousin. We tend to side with the latter and we knew it would fit well in this recipe… and, did it ever. It was a tremendous counterweight to the lamb while playing extremely nice with the spice blend of the overall stew.
Alas, we’ll avoid any further temptation of jumping down the parsnip rabbit hole since we promised a quick digression!
Preparation
As always, your life in the kitchen is made easier by adopting a mise en place approach. So, grab all of this fun stuff and let’s make this memorable Moroccan Lamb Stew.
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, and carrots for 3 to 4 minutes. Throw in some of the parsnips, too! This is optional but, as you can see in the photo below, we have done so for this iteration. Get the whole family involved… because, why not? Yet another reason why we believe cooking is better than baking (HA!)
Add the garlic and saute for another couple of minutes, stirring occasionally and until the onions begin to soften.
Add in the lamb and brown the meat, using a spatula or spoon to break up the meat while it cooks. Go ahead and toss in the crushed red pepper, too.
Once the lamb is browned, add the sweet potato, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock. Stir together and bring to a boil.
Add the lentils and remaining ingredients (save half the cilantro for garnish). Stir to mix all ingredients together. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes (or until root vegetables have softened). Simmer a little while longer if the vegetables haven’t reached your liking.
The Finale
By this time the smells in your kitchen should be making your mouth water. If not, let’s find out where things went wrong. Grab a test spoon and sneak a sample while no one is looking. You should have an overwhelming desire to double dip that test spoon. We won’t tell! Congratulate yourself on your latest journey across the culinary pond =)
Serve alone as a stew or ladle over couscous (Prepare couscous according to package directions). Garnish with fresh cilantro. See the notes at the bottom of the recipe for our thoughts on making this your own. Enjoy!
Equipment: Moroccan Lamb Stew
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A quality stock pot is your best friend for this Moroccan Lamb Stew. For smaller batches you could use a simple Dutch oven. Both items are kitchen essentials that we recommend having handy. Check these out if you’re in the market (affiliate links):
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prep the ingredients according to the recipe above.
- In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, and carrots for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another couple of minutes, stirring occasionally and until the onions begin to soften.
- Add in the lamb and brown the meat, using a spatula or spoon to break up the meat while it cooks. Add in the crushed red pepper, too.
- Once the lamb is browned, add the sweet potato, parsnips, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock. Stir together and bring to a boil.
- Add the lentils and remaining ingredients (save half the cilantro for garnish). Stir to mix all ingredients together. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes (or until root vegetables have softened).
- Serve as a stew or over couscous (Prepare couscous according to package directions). Garnish with fresh cilantro.
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