LAMB STEW. It wouldn’t be SOUP & SEX with-out this dish. Yet, most will consider this stew an epic journey in taste, discovery, and time. But its surly worth the extra time. In fact, this meal will have eaters begging for more. Which is the whole point.
LAMB STEW LIST
Butter: 9 T
Lamb: 2 lbs. cut into cubes
Cooking Sherry: ¼ cup
Chicken Broth: 1 box
Flour: 5 T
Paprika; 2 tsp
Cilantro: 3 T fresh minced
Plum Tomatoes: 2 cups diced
Yellow Onion: 1 ½ cups slivers
Shallots: 1 large minced
Garlic: 2 cloves minced
Parsley: ¼ cup
Tarragon: 1 T
Mushrooms: 1 package
Sour Cream: ½ cup
LAMB STEW PREP
Remove meat from bones and fat from meat. In a Dutch oven brown the bones and fat with 1 T butter and 1/8 cup sherry on medium-low for 10 minutes. Remove fat and bones and add 2 T butter and lamb meat and remove from heat.
In a small bowl stir together 2 T flour, paprika, 2 T cilantro, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Then sprinkle over lamb and return to a low heat for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, onion, shallot, garlic, parsley, and tarragon. Bring back to a boil, cover, and simmer 1.5 hours until lamb is tender and fragrant.
Meanwhile brown 2 T of butter. Then quickly sauté mushrooms until golden brown. Set aside.
When done remove 1 cup of liquid from stew and add sour cream until smooth. Add to pot along with mushrooms and rest of cilantro and continue to simmer for 10 minutes longer.
Remove from heat and let stew rest uncovered for 1 hour. Reheat slowly when ready to serve. Ladle into bowls and serve with a tomato focaccia.
*This special stew deserves a full-textured red wine.
LAMB NOTES
Oh, Lamb stew or soup. It’s certainly a holiday great. Indeed, it’s great any-time you take time to make it. And a hearty meat soup like this is well suited as a one-dish meal. And of course, this is one of those.
In fact, in Middle Eastern cooking most meat soups are prepared with mutton or lamb. But we won’t go into detail about how all parts of the animal wind up in the culinary process. Because with lots of seasonings their soups are flavorful and delicious. But there’s no lamb inner’s here. Just a select piece at the local market will do just fine!
Indeed, creative cooks around the world put their faith in hearty meat soups for warmth and nourishment. But also, continue to be wise enough to make them pleasing to the taste buds.
So, will we. Now, enjoy all your efforts—holiday or not.