Rosie’s Lamb Stew
This lamb stew can be made as a meat lover’s dream or a vegan’s delight. You choose. This recipe is gluten free by nature and as I personally need to be nightshade free, I omit any tomatoes, eggplant, or peppers. I’m giving you the basic recipe and you can pick the direction that suits your needs. Feel free to add any veggie that makes you happy.
I’ve adapted a basic tagine recipe. A tagine is a North African or Middle Eastern, stew that gets its name from the pot in which it is cooked. I do not have a tagine however a good braising pot will do the trick.
Read up on all the tremendous benefits of herbs and spices here.
Ingredients
2 lbs. Grass fed or grass finished Lamb for stew
1 lb. of Chickpeas precooked( for vegan version)
1 lb. of butternut squash diced (fresh or frozen)
1 large bunch of fresh greens de stemmed and thinly sliced, your choice (I love dandelion and spigariello) spinach, kale, chard and collards will all work well.
6 cups of homemade beef, chicken or veggie broth (store bought will work be sure to check ingredients for added sugars, and additives before buying)
1 whole onion diced
4 garlic cloves (or more!) minced
1 bulb of fresh fennel sliced thin
2 Tablespoons of grass fed organic butter
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of ground Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon dry Turmeric
3/4 Cup fresh oregano de stemmed and chopped, or 3 Tablespoons of dry oregano
2 Teaspoons of fresh ground pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoons of Sea salt (or to taste)
Cooking Instructions
You will need a heavy bottom sauce pan with a lid, a sharp knife, measuring spoons, measuring cups, cutting boards, large spoon, and potholders.
Prepare all your veggies, chop, dice, slice, and set aside.
Place all your spices near your cooking station and measuring spoons close by.
Trim your stew bits into bite size pieces. I like to leave the fat as it adds flavor and satiety to the dish.
Heat you pan on medium heat, add onion, and fennel cook until golden brown.
Add garlic after the browning and sauté until fragrant.
Add meat little by little, allow the lamb to brown a bit.
(If making the bean version add your chickpeas and continue as follows)
Once the meat has browned add all your fresh and dry spices, stir well and cook a few minutes until fragrant.
Add the broth, stir well and bring everything to a rolling boil.
Once boiling lower the heat to simmer and cover, cook 1 hour
After the first hour take off the lid , stir, and add in your butternut squash
allow the broth to come back up to a bubbling boil, lower the heat once again, place lid partially on the top and simmer for another hour
Check for seasoning at this point, add more of any of the above spices that you see fit.
Take your greens, add them slowly in while stirring
Allow the mixture to continue simmering with an open lid in order to create a nice thick broth for one more hour.
The stew at this point should be very tender with a lovely glaze to the sauce, it is ready to eat.
Serving Instructions
Serve the stew over any whole grain you like, for GF and paleo versions of this dish I like to serve it over fresh zucchini noodles.
You can top this with crumbled sheep’s milk feta, cultured sour cream, or cashew cream and cilantro is delicious. For those that can handle peppers, some hot red chili flakes are also lovely.
Notes
This recipe can be made in a slow cooker, add a couple cups less broth if cooking in the slow cooker. This makes for great leftovers that travel well to work. It also freezes very well.
Nutrient Information
Amount Per Serving (8 servings)
Calories 503
Total Fat 24g
Saturated Fat 7g
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 10g
Cholesterol 124mg
Sodium 418mg
Total Carbohydrate 37g
Dietary Fiber 12g
Sugars 6g
Protein 39g