It’s freezer cleaning out time and I found two lamb sirloins in there. When they were defrosted, I started out to make harira which is a soup but halfway through I decided to stop following a recipe and go out on my own and make this Moroccan inspired lamb stew instead. I thought I was in the mood for soup until I began smelling the onion and garlic and cumin and paprika cooking in the pot. When it came time to add the beef stock, I added only half and voilà, it became stew. I could have cooked this in my tagine but by the time I had the pot dirty, I’d had enough washing up to do.
The recipe also didn’t call for any peas but it looked quite sad without them so in they went. This is the point where it went from Moroccan to Moroccan inspired.
I tasted it and there was a slight bitterness so I popped in a teaspoon of brown sugar, then I added some salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. I wasn’t going to blog it but we liked it so much, I decided I’d share it with you.
The house was lacking a new rice cooker and I hadn’t heard from anyone promoting one they loved so I found these rice cooker reviews and decided on the Zojirushi and when I told my daughter-in-law about it, she said, ‘That’s the one we have.’
- 500 grams (about a pound) of lamb steaks cut in cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large or 2 small onions chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- serve with boiled rice or flat bread
- ¼ cup sour cream
- In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, add the oil and when warm add the onion and a pinch of salt.
- After two minutes add the garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.
- Add the lamb and and raise the heat to medium and stir until the meat is browned.
- Sprinkle the cumin and paprika over the meat and onions and cook until fragrant.
- Add the stock and the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
- Cook for a minimum of 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Mine took 2½ hours for the meat to be really soft.
- Toss in the peas and bring the pot back to the boil then add the coriander and parsley.
- Place rice in a bowl and pour over the stew. Garnish with a few coriander leaves.
Have you ever started to follow a recipe and decided halfway through that you had a better idea?
This is the kind of recipe that my husband love it ! And by the way, I love too 🙂 Happy monday !
Thank you. I hope this is a great week for you, Eva!
Yum! This lamb looks really delicious! I just had lamb at my MIL this past Sunday, still have to attempt it for myself someday!
It’s so easy to cook this and when everyone closes their eyes at the goodness, you’ll be a hero. 🙂
Scrumptious! The photo is simply perfect…. I can imagine the taste…. WOW!
Do you serve the sour cream alongside?
This looks so perfect for winter! And stews win over soups everytime in my book 🙂
How delicious! I love how original recipes like this come about. The peas seem to suit it perfectly and make it a one pot meal! 😀
This looks like something you spent all day! Way to make healthy by throwing more vegetables in, too. 😉 I would love to hear more about cooking in a tagine!
My family will love this! I have never made lamb in spite of the fact I have had it in restaurants. This is on my let’s do this! list. Thanks Maureen.
Yum! This sounds so hearty and flavorful!! I agree, flat bread would be perfect to soak up all that glorious sauce.
Oh how lovely Maureen. I love that you were all about making the soup and then halfway through went…awww screw it 🙂 Those are the best kinds of recipes 🙂
The peas add a nice touch of colour to all that brown even if they aren’t needed. 🙂 Flatbread, naan, Greek style pitas … they’d all work.
I love these flavors, what a comforting one pot meal!
I need to clean out my freezer! This is great comfort food. Just the sort of dinner I look forward to now the temperature has dropped so much. Love the Moroccan-inspired dish! xx
My sister is coming in August and I need the space to prep food before the Americans arrive. 🙂
Dear Maureen,
A sign of a good cook is being able to “wing it” and adjust flavour and ingredients as you progress through the recipe. This looks sensational be it Moroccan or Moroccan-inspired.
Your lamb stew looks so delicious. I am not a lamb person but I think the herbs, spices and other ingredients in your dish would work well with pork or beef.
Oh YUM! I’m so glad you veered off from the recipe. This looks and sounds fantastic. I know your kitchen must have smelled amazing!
Mmmm, what a good idea with this drop in temperature!!! Looks amazing…you can almost taste & smell it.
Thanks for the nudge :))
Tonight’s dinner I reckon xx
A delicious creation… and it would be perfect for our wintery evenings… minus seven here this morning!
I would throw a dollop of yogurt on the top – delicious – love lamb and chickpeas:-)
I did too and I put that in the notes when I published it. I agree with you 100%.
Oh Yum!!! I can smell the aroma way over the oceans and land masses. Heady stuff…….and SO easy.
I love Moroccan food! Particularly dishes that involve lamb. The peas were a totally needed addition IMO — they look (and I’ll bet taste) great. I need to clean out my freezer and see what gems I find. 😉
I bet the flavor is wonderful. It looks so delicious and satisfying. I love it when recipes turn out like this!
I like this… This is a Maureen inspired Middle Eastern stew :). I’ve made something like this with beef and peas once and with beef and chickpeas another time, but never thought of combining them both!! this is a clever idea.
Lamb: of course! Moroccan: as often as possible! ‘Moroccan-style’ rather than ‘Moroccan’ or ‘fusion’ I applaud!! Maureen – it IS a tagine in whichever pot it was cooked: just lovely 🙂 !!
Thanks, Eha. You never fail to make me smile.
Your lamb stew looks absolutely delicious Maureen! Perfect for this weather!
As you know, I LOVE Moroccan food and spices and your photo makes me want to dive right in!
This looks scummy, perfect now the evenings are getting colder!
I am pretty sure I have some lamb hiding in my freezer too!
Will be pinning this one 🙂
I’m trying to follow recipes the first time and then to branch out on my own the second time – but I’m failing badly. You just have to go with your cooks instinct sometimes – and it worked perfectly for you.
Happens all the time, start out following a recipe, end up in a whole new world of ‘I know better’, thankfully it usually works out fabulous. 🙂 Your stew looks warming, perfect to combat the minus 8 degree we are dealing with today.
Th addition of brown sugar must have turned it into a special treat. Sometimes I feel the same way, I start a dish but end up with something completely else because I smell the ingredients frying in the oil. That’s when I truly feel inspired as you did here. Thanks for sharing!
Since I do not buy lamb often, I would love to try this recipe with beef…I like all the spices and the addition of chickpeas and peas…looks delicious Maureen. Thanks for the inspiration!
Have a great day 🙂
I think that this stew looks delicious. I agree the peas look like they fit in quite nicely.
The perfect easy winter warmer Maureen. I’m glad you decided to share it!
Mmmm…look at that bowl of slow cooked goodness. I want to dive through my screen and grab a BIG spoonful of that!
This is really the sort of food I love. It looks very very yummy.
What a perfect winter dish to have ready when the boys come home from sport, always starving a no patience to wait. This looks like the sort of dish that would still be great the day after it was cooked as well…
I Maureen! I feel like I’ve fallen off the face of the blogging earth, but have just been so busy. I love anything that contains the word “Moroccan”. And you’ve reminded me that my tagine is sitting in the cupboad and I’m sure feeling very lonely. 🙂 Great sounding dish you’ve posted here.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been cleaning out the fridge/freezer and got distracted by a hunk of meat. Ha! Lamb stew is a worthy distraction, I’d say. Your photo captures it beautifully. YUM!
That first picture had my mouth watering! It’s been so long since I had an aromatically spice heavy lamb stew!
I am totally liking Moroccan inspired. I know I don’t have lamb lurking in my freezer but I believe I can find something else. Our weather has gone from cold to hot to cold-well. This would be perfect!
This stew looks really fantastic! So hearty and flavorful
It looks fabulous Maureen! I love Moroccan food, they have great flavor combinations. Great recipe!
This looks TOO good. I can’t wait to try this flavorful stew!!
I am totally inspired to make this one. That’s one good looking and hearty stew. I am loving all the spices that are in it. I also have a tagine..;)..but hey do we really one to make this goodness?! YUM!!
Beautiful looking dish Maureen. I love the peas in it, but I might have to discard them because my older kid won’t touch anything with peas in them. Looks yummm.
Wonderful- I think I’ll take this recipe and use it with some lamb shanks I have. And maybe in the slow cooker? Low for 4-6 hours?
I’m missing when you added in the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas. Is this before or after you simmered?
Before the simmering! 🙂
This looks amazing! There’s something so warm and comforting about lamb stew. The peas are a great addition too! 🙂
I can practically smell those Morroccan flavors through the screen! Looks delicious!
I love all the flavors in this lamb stew – we were in Morocco many years ago and I remember the fragrance of all the spiced stews still.
Lovely combination of flavors here.It was delicious, I love an explosion of flavors.
I bet it taste very good ! I love how it looks