Tag Archives: mediteranian

Greek Lamb Stew

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GreekStew7SmallThis is one of those real stews. It needs to simmer for two to three hours. This makes this is a great weekend dish or a meal to prepare in advance. It will however blow your mind.

The stew combines so many complex flavors, the lamb and various spices. It is however still balanced. Your lamb should be falling apart. The sauce is sweet, yet sour and ever so warming thanks to that cinnamon. Against that very hearty stew, it is nice to have that tangy yoghurt sauce. The potato chips are the perfect vessel for all this sauce. If you also serve the salad you get some crunch and fresh veg for a complete meal.

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Greek Lamb Stew ( 4 portions)

  • 3 large onions, finely sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil for frying
  • 4 bay leaves
  • Spice mix:
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tbsp thyme
    • 1 tsp fennel seeds
    • 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 400 gr lamb shoulder, cut in chunks
  • Meat coating:
    • 2 tbsp flour
    • Salt and pepper
    • 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 glass of red port or wine
  • 1 tbsp of dried oregano
  • 400 gr of (tinned) diced tomatoes
  • 200 ml of chicken stock

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  1. After cutting all your ingredients, mix your meat with the coating ingredients.
  2. Brown the lamb chunks in two or three batches and set aside.
  3. In the same pan cook the onion and garlic until soft.
  4. Add the spice mix and bay leaves until they give of their lovely aroma.
  5. Add the meat and the port. Let this cook while stirring for a few minutes.
  6. Add the diced tomatoes, oregano and stock and let this mix simmer for up to 3 hours or until your meat is soft. Keep stirring if needed.
  7. The flour should have thickened your sauce. If needed, mix 2 tbsp of corn starch with water and stir this mixture through your simmering stew right at the end.

This stew can be made well in advance and reheated on a low heat. Serve this stew with some fresh oven chips, tzaziki and a simple Lemon & Nigella Seed salad.

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Chickpea stew

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This middle eastern inspired dish is a great heart warming dish. It is full of spice, slightly sweet and vegetarian. For our family it ticked all the boxes. We liked having this stew with home made flat breads and zingy yoghurt sauce.

Pita5

This stew tastes the best when prepared a day in advance, I make the sauce and bread dough in advance too. This makes this an easy and festive meal to make when we have people over. Thanks to its sweetness, my son loves this dish too.

Regarding the spice mix, you could just use to table spoons of raz el hanout instead of this complicated mix. Alternatively you could just double the teaspoons of various spices and leave out the Raz el Hanout. Raz el Hanout is an Arabic spice mix which is great for making Middle Eastern stews, I like to think of it as the cousin of curry powder.

Chickpea stew (4 portions)

  • Spice mix:
    • 1 tsp spicy smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp turmeric
    • 1 tsp thyme
    • 1 tsp ground koriander
    • 1 tsp fennel seeds
    • 1 tsp cinamon
    • 1 tbsp raz el hanout
  • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 400 gr (tinned) chickpea’s
  • 400 gr (tinned) diced tomatoes
  • 10 dried apricots, roughly chopped
  • Optional for serving: a handful of shopped fresh koriander
  1. Fry your onions and garlics untill soft and light brown. Take your time for this step, it adds lots of flavor.
  2. Add the spice mix. Stir and fry this for a few minutes.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Let this mix come to a boil. Let it simmer on a low heat for an hour or more.
  5. Stir your stew regulaly. If needed, add some water to prevent it from sticking.
  6. Season to taste.

Pita

You can keep this spicy stew for up to for 4 days in an airtight container in your fridge. Warm it up in your microwave or in a pan while stirring on low heat.

I like to serve this stew with some flat bread, yoghurt garlic sauce and a salad of lettuce, tomatoe, onion, feta, nigella seeds, olive oil and lemon juice.

Pita3