Oh geez, I have been so lazy. I’ve made a couple of really nice meals lately and been out to dinner twice and I’ve blogged about none of these things. I need to get my act together here. Let’s kick that off with this week’s French Fridays with Dorie, shall we?
I am a huge fan of lamb but almost every lamb stew I’ve attempted I’ve been disappointed with…until now. I loved this! I’m not sure even why this is the one lamb stew to rule them all, but it was. It just worked for me, you know? I used my sweet curry powder from Penzey’s and also ground cardamom seeds (I ground them in the coffee grinder), so the cardamom was very fresh tasting. I also added a pinch of dried ginger and extra garlic. Oh and a dash of cayenne for a little heat. Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, I only added one diced apple. Mainly, because it was a fairly big one.
We had this over some cooked bulgur (normally, I would have gone the rice route, but I had bulgur in the fridge). I also served some garlicky yogurt and toasted flat bread on the side.
We’re not supposed to post the recipe for FFwD, but I found it online here, so knock yourself out: Scrumptious Seattle.
Okay, here are links to everyone’s posts and here are my pictures!
Mint ready to be de-leaved and stems tied together.
Onions, spices, plus I added a chopped yellow bell pepper to the mix.
Diced lamb added in. With all the other stuff in the pan, it didn’t sear that well, but it seemed to work out fine in the end.
A fig. Calimyrna to be exact.
Everything added and ready to braise.
Fresh mint leaves on top, about to dish up.
Very nicely done! I was surprised how much I liked this, too.
I hear you – I’ve been sick and on vacation & badly neglecting my blog which is so unlike me! Hopefully, we’ll get back into the swing of things soon!
Have a great weekend!
I’ve got to……find a better source for figs. That close up photo of the figs you used look absolutely amazing. And yay for a lamb stew that you love!
Glad you enjoyed – it’s nice to find something that works, isn’t it?
I loved how vibrant the mint was. Mint is a such a happy herb!
Have a great weekend.
Susan: Thanks! I know…wasn’t it great 🙂
ComeUndone: Thank you! My dried figs were just from Trader Joe’s. I really love their dried fruit.
Cher: It really is! Totally agree, mint is super happy!
I loved this stew, too! Your figs DO look good. I miss Trader Joe’s. There’s none within three hours of where I live now. I used to go all the time in Virginia. Good stuff!
This recipe wasn’t the easiest to photograph, but yours looks good. I know what you mean about keeping up with the blog. I cook all week long, but don’t always have the time or energy to, first of all, remember to take a picture, and then to write about it. Sometimes I think I’ll just give up blogging, but then when I get down to it, I really enjoy it, both the writing and the reading of others.