Mediterranean Lamb Stew...yummy comfort food!

 

This Mediterranean Lamb Stew is exactly what the doctor ordered on this freezing Cape Town day! 

Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time – 20 minutes
Cooking time – 90 minutes
Suggested wine – Landskroon Shiraz with a few years’ bottle age

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
700 g boned shoulder of free range Karoo lamb
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chopped oregano to taste
1 aubergine, cubed
1 bay leaf
300 ml lamb or vegetable stock
2x 400 g cans chopped tomatoes
400 g can chickpeas, drained
50 g seedless raisins

Couscous:
700 ml hot vegetable stock
450 g couscous

Topping:
Feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

Method
1. Preheat oven to 190ºC.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and brown the lamb until golden. Remove from the dish with a slotted spoon and put on a plate.
3. Add the onion to the casserole and cook until it begins to soften for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the garlic cloves, oregano and aubergine cubes. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden.
5. Return the lamb (and juices) to the dish. Add the bay leaf, stock, chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and seedless raisins. Season to taste.
6. Cover then cook in the oven for 1½ hours until lamb is tender and cooked through.
7. Five minutes before serving, pour the hot vegetable stock over the couscous so it covers it by 1cm.
8. Cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then fluff up with a fork.
9. Serve the lamb on the couscous, and top with feta and mint. 

Mint is hard to find here in winter, so I substituted with Italian flat-leaf parsley.  I also used a deboned leg of lamb instead of the shoulder.  Lamb knuckles or shanks would work equally well!

A hot ciabata, a glass of wine, a fire in the fireplace, laughter and friends, and you're set!  Enjoy!

Comments

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with the help of your recipe method i made that dish and you belive it make delicious please sand me more methods. thanks.

[Jeanne]

OMG, I am SO going to make this when the weather turns colder!!

[Paul]

Sounds delicious! - nice blog by the way, some great recipes!

[nina]

Jeez, what happened to you girlfriend!! I was going to phone earlier, but I never know if your are busy with class or something!!! This stew is looking mighty fine to me!!!