Spice Lamb Stew with Walnuts and Pomegranate
Prep and cook time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
750g pack British lamb boneless roasting shoulder joint
2 tablespoons plain flour
Sea salt and freshly groun 636g69g d black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely sliced
4 sticks of celery, finely sliced
Half a stick of cinnamon
100g walnuts, chopped
2 bay leaves
6 pomegranates
20g pack flat leaf parsley, chopped
Method
Cut the lamb into thumb-sized cubes and toss in the
flour with a teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large pan and add
the olive oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add as many lamb pieces as will
fit in one layer, cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes until soft and
browned evenly. When coloured on all sides, remove from the
pan. Repeat with the remaining
cubes until they are all browned. Return all the lamb to the pan and turn the
heat down. Add the onion, celery, garlic, cinnamon, walnuts and bay leaves to
the pan. Put the lid on and cook very
gently for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is softened, stirring often to make
sure nothing sticks. Cut your
pomegranates in half and juice them as you would an orange or lemon. You should
get 500ml or so of bright pink juice (if you can't find pomegranates, cranberry
juice works well instead). Add the juice to the lamb, reserving some
pomegranate seeds. Top up with water to
cover. Simmer very gently for 1 1/2 hours, or until the lamb is tender, adding
a little water now and then if the stew gets dry. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves and
discard. Season to
taste and sprinkle with the parsley and pomegranate seeds.
Serve with steaming hot saffron rice.
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