For those of you who haven’t met Suzy Karadsheh from The Mediterranean Dish, you are in for a treat. She’s a really clever woman who has given up her high flying career to be a stay-at-home mom. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon her blog but I was instantly impressed by the quality of her recipes, her photography and quality of writing and engagement on her blog.
It didn’t take long before we were swapping comments and began a wonderful friendship. Recently when I said I wasn’t 100% up to par, Suzy wrote and offered to do a guest post for me. As you know, I don’t have many guest posts but everyone will be pleased with this recipe from Suzy. She’s a class act and I’m really glad we met. I love Moroccan Lamb Stew and here’s Suzy’s post.
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Ever met someone and felt a special connection right from the start? You couldn’t exactly figure out why you think you should be friends; you just know you will be!
I have been a follower of Maureen’s work and a reader of this blog for some months now. Maureen and I live seas apart. We have never met, nor talked by phone. All our communication has taken place through the internet–our blogs, social media, and a couple of e-mails. Yet, every interaction has been sincere and quite meaningful to me—as if between two old friends.
Maureen is that person I met unexpectedly and felt an instant connection with. And although we have not visited in person, in my mind’s eye, she is that friend with the honest voice, warm hugs, and contagious smile.
When Maureen said I could share a recipe here on Orgasmic Chef, I was ecstatic! Then, to be honest, I panicked, just a little. What will I make?! My mind went on and on with dizzying ideas. Then, I started to think about my good friend. I asked myself, “What would I make for Maureen, if she were to show up at dinner tonight?” I decided it would have to be something warm, hearty and flavor-packed; something neither too fussy nor formal. Something like today’s Moroccan lamb stew.
One of the things I appreciate most about today’s recipe is that it is a simple one-pot-wonder. Once you have everything in your pot, you put it in the oven and relax. And while the oven works its magic cooking that lamb to tender perfection, you just go and enjoy yourself with loved ones.
Doesn’t that sound nice?
Such little effort for a foolproof warm-your-heart dinner! I hope you enjoy it and share it with your loved ones soon! And thanks for having me here today! Here’s the recipe –
- Olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, cubed
- 6 Yukon gold potatoes (or any small potatoes), peeled, cubed
- 2.5 lb boneless leg of lamb, fat trimmed, cubed (1/2” cubes)
- 3 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried apricots
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ras el hanout (Moroccan spice blend)
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 6 canned plum tomatoes, cut in halves
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil.
- In the heated oil, sauté the onions, carrots, and potatoes for 4 minutes or so. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from the pot and set aside briefly.
- In the same pot, add more oil if needed, and deeply brown the lamb on all sides.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn heat to medium-high and return the sautéed vegetables to the pot.
- Add the dried apricots, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and spices and stir to coat.
- Add the plum tomatoes and broth and bring everything to a boil for 5 minutes or so.
- Cover the pot and place in the 350 F degree (approx. 180 degrees C) heated-oven for 1 ½ hrs (check partway through to add water or broth if needed).
- Stir in the chickpeas, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot with your choice of white rice, couscous, pita bread or your favorite rustic bread.
- A simple Mediterranean salad like Fattoush* makes a great starter for this hearty meal. Enjoy!
I follow Suzy on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google+ and maybe you’d like to do that too.
That sounds delicious. I’ve been experimenting with Moroccan recipes lately — at least when not traveling.
This looks lovely! Lamb is at the top of our ‘red meat’ list and when it is combined with Mediterranean fare it is tops. Love the post!
Oh my! A good stew is in order with the colder weather here, and I love lamb! Plus one-pot recipes = less dishes to wash = happy hubby 😉
This look amazing. I like Lamb and like how you use carrots. Thanks for sharing.
That looks and sounds amazing!! Moroccan stews are always so good, I just love the addition of cinnamon to a savory dish. My family makes a beef stew where they add prunes to it to give it a sweetness, and the dried apricots in this recipe sound like they would have a similar purpose. I am pinning this and checking out Suzy’s blog now! 🙂
Sorry to hear you are not 100% up to par! 🙁
Very nice to meet you Suzy! Being a lover of lamb, I find your stew very appealing and one that I know would be a huge hit in this house. Lovely post Suzy and Maureen!
I love Suzy’s work @ The Mediterranean Dish too! This Moroccan lamb stew looks incredibly delicious.. and I totally am up for trying out this recipe – its perfect for the cooling weather right now.
This looks absolutely marvelous!! I do so love a good stew, especially now that our evenings are getting cooler. 🙂
I love this story, and how meaningful deep friendships can be formed no matter the distance. What a lovely bowl of comfort.
Maureen, I hope you are feeling better soon. It is such a please to meet you Suzy and your gorgeous Moroccan lamb stew. Delicious flavors and also really stunning photos! I would love a bowl of that right now.
What a lovely recipe. i am sure if you like Suzy I will too Maureen. Thanks for introducing us. x
I am not familiar with Moroccan cuisine but this recipe is so simple and better yet it is a one pot meal, adding to my “to make” list.
Love these flavors! It must smell divine as it cooks. One pot meals are the best!
This is a lovely stew .. Thanks for letting us know Suzy, Maureen , she seems such a lovely person indeed.
This looks fabulous, my husband is a huge fan of lamb stew and I’m sure he’d love the moroccan flavors, maybe so would I. Great recipe!
Sounds and looks fantastic!!!! With all those wonderful ingredients I can smell the sweet aroma now! Really!!! However, will need to half the recipe for just one to a few.
Great post Maureen and Suzy. It is so true that some of the best friendships happen even when haven’t met the person however sharing the same passion for thing like Food, photography and blogging can be the very core of great frienships. I know I have developed fantastic friendships with many bloggers whom I have never met. The dish looks amazing and I love morrocan cuisine. Need to have time to try it . Suzy, are you from Jordan ;)? I am based in Amman 🙂
Very nice to “meet” you Suzy! I understand so well how you connected to Maureen, so I was smiling all the way through your post, including with the panic attack about what to make and blog about on her site… 🙂
I think you chose a perfect dish, actually!
This stew sounds absolutely wonderful! With all those spices in there – I wanna make it just so it gets rid of the burnt broccoli smell that has been lingering around my house!
This stew sounds absolutely wonderful! With all those spices in there – I wanna make it just so it gets rid of the burnt broccoli smell that has been lingering around my house! !
Maureen, if anything would make you feel better, it must be this lamb stew. I love the ras el hanout in it and the simplicity of making something so full of flavor. Surely this would have you up and around in no time! Now I’m going over to check out Mediterranean Dish!
Love this dish!! And love Suzy!!! I too have made several friends over blogs who I feel as if we are kindred spirits even though we are miles and sometimes worlds apart. That is the beauty of blogging 🙂
Yes! You’re so right. I’m good friends with quite a few people that I’ve never been in the same room with. 🙂
Hope you’re feeling better Maureen. Suzy’s stew looks wonderful, so rich, vibrant and full of flavor!
Thank you again for having me here today! Such a pleasure to meet all of you. Appreciate the kind comments.
I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful post. I’m really glad we’re friends.
I’ve never heard of Suzy’s blog but I’ll have to check it out. As to the lamb stew, the apricots and ras el hanout are two ingredients that I have never attempted … maybe next time leg of lamb is on sale at $4.99 a pound, and my budget permits, I’ll pick one up and give this a try.
Now this is my type of stew, meaty hearty delicious
Just magic ! The recipe, your friendship, pictures….Bravo to both of you !
I have a moroccan chickpea stew that I love, but I know my husband would love this version with Lamb even better. The potatoes make this a full-on meal! Lovely photos too!
Wow! This stew is absolutely my kind of food 🙂 And it just so happens that Moroccan is one of my favourite cuisines! Suzy, you have a new reader – popping over to subscribe to your blog now!
Dear Maureen,
Suzy recipe is timely as we head into beautiful autumn. I would definitely love this lamb stew with a warm garlic naan.
Maureen, thanks for introducing us to Suzy and for giving us this guest post! 🙂 Suzy- amazing picture and mouth watering recipe for sure, adding it to my list, I don’t know that I’ve ever had lamb, can you believe it?! Maybe this will be my first crack at it! 🙂
I’m not surprised, Stephanie. I probably had it twice in my life before moving to Australia where it’s on everyone’s table at least once a week. 🙂
Maureen, thank you for the introduction to Suzy. (Hi Suzy!). I am loving the sound of this dish already… gorgeous combination of flavours! Can almost smell it from here! Maureen, hope you are ok? Off to visit Suzy’s blog now.
That really does look like a one pot wonder. You know I like Moroccan and especially when it all comes in one pot. I am not very good with cooking vegetables separately so love dishes like this that make me incorporate veggies in the main.
I’m a big fan of one pot meals and this one looks so warm & inviting.
Suzy and Maureen, Isn’t the blogosphere a wonderful place. You have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and creative people from all around the world.
This Moroccan Lamb stew is stunning. A beautiful soulful meal. Perfect for a crowd or intimate dinner for two.
Thank you Suzy for sharing! I will be over shortly to check out your blog.
Velva
What a delicious looking dish with mouth watering photos!
I know what you mean about that instant connection with Maureen as it too happened to me!
I do hope Maureen feels better soon and here’s a hug for both!
Great recipe not too difficult to put together: can’t wait to try! An original Paula Wolfert gal it will be a pleasure to segue into your writings . . .
I wish my head shot looked like Suzy’s. I do love one-pot meals; very handy and convenient. This looks like a wonderful family meal and I think I might make it tonight xx
Glad to meet you, Suzy! This is a wonderful dish you’ve made for us — very colorful, and loads of flavor. Moroccan food is so nice, isn’t it? Love the spices in it! Great guest post — thanks.
Oh, this is so my kind of dish and great meeting Suzy – I have already checked out her blog which looks great. Another one that will be landing in my inbox:)
Nice to meet you Suzy! Your stew looks beautiful and delicious! The first picture immediately caught my attention! We had very simple beef stew tonight, and family loves stew (they like it for lunch next day too). Can’t beat the 15 min prep time for this delicious meal. 😀
Moroccan spices are so nice with lamb, what a tasty looking stew!
What a fabulous dish and so little effort to make too. Full of spices that will fill the kitchen with comforting fragrance. I hope you’re feeling a little more up to par Maureen. GG
What a gorgeous looking dish! And I hope that you’re okay Maureen? Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help!
Sounds truly amazing!! I adore Suzy’s site, you got it right when you said a class act!!
I’m so sorry that you’re under the weather Maureen, it was so nice of Suzy to offer to guest post with that incredible lamb stew. It was while we were in Morocco, a few years ago that I began eating lamb. I instantly fell in love with the warming spices and sweet bits of fruit. This gorgeous recipe ticks off all those boxes and it’s so pretty to boot. I’ll check out Suzy’s blog now, thanks so much for the intro.
Oh, that lamb stew looks fantastic. Yum!
l adore Moroccan stews! This looks divine! 😀
This stew looks so rich and comforting! And the pictures are gorgeous 🙂
oh my goodness. now that is what you call a stew! Rich and hearty with that wonderful base. I love the flavors and everything about it. awesome
Just gorgeous Maureen!
The food, the photos, the story, you & Suzy….
Thankyou xx
This stew looks beautiful and would be comfort food to me. Yum!
Yum! This stew looks really good and would be comfort food to me.
Wow this recipe looks and sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to see more – heading over for a visit! I think Maureen is all that too!
What a great guest post. The stew sounds fabulous and the pictures are beautiful.
Dear Suzy, It is such a pleasure seeing you here. Your stew looks beautiful and sounds like a feast of flavors. Blessings dear, Catherine xo
this lamb stew sounds devine!
Just a paradise recipe! If I get at least a half as pictured it would be cool! Will keep it in my recipe book.
Just beautiful! The photos, the food, the friendship, love it all! And I’m looking forward to seeing more from Suzy as I visit her blog. I do hope you are beginning to feeling better, Maureen.
Yum!! The lamb stew sounds so hearty and delicious! Maureen, thanks for introducing Suzy and her site. It’s wonderful!
I love all my blog buddies for this very reason, many I have never met, or even spoken too, yet I feel a real connection with them. Fabulous stew, perfect for the cooler weather we are heading into. 🙂
Love one-pot wonders. And you’re right the tone is warm and welcoming (like you and Maureen) as I imagine the flavors are in your stew =)
Oh my! That looks mouthwatering! And Suzy, you look like a super model. I am off…to check your website.
As usual Maureen, you give us the best of the best. Hugs.
I have to say, this recipe is sooooooooooooo good, I have made it 3 times this month! It’s my favourite stew ever, and it was the 1st time I had made anything morrocan. The spices are so good together. I know I will always regularly use this recipe. Thank you so much for shring it.
Tricia, you are the absolute best to take the time to tell me you like this lamb stew too. It’s a favourite here!
I made this dish last night for my family and the flavors were fabulous!
Yay!! Thanks heaps for letting me know you liked it!
Hi – can somebody tell me if it’s ok to make in a pot/pressure cooker on the stove? Thanks
Yes, that would be fine.
I’ve just found this recipe and I’ve now got it cooking away in the slow cooker for the rest of the day. It was so easy to prep and it smells divine already! Going to have it with sone couscous and whole meal pitta’s. I think my family will love it. It’s only mid morning and it’s making me hungry already. Thank you from Stafford, UK ? ????