Serves 2-3
Amazingly enough, Keith had never had lamb before we embarked on our Adventure to eat food from around the world. This stew is so fresh and flavorful it won him over immediately. Serve with millet balls.
The key to making good lamb stew is to simmer -never boil – the meat. For the first hour the meat will seem tough and chewy but, incredibly, in the second hour even the toughest cut softens, tenderizes and gets that “melt in your mouth” quality that makes stew completely irresistible.
Ingredients:
vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb lamb, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp tomato paste
4 cups water, or as needed
1/2 lb chopped okra
Method:
Heat a little oil in a medium pot. Brown lamb – do not crowd. Brown in small batches if needed.
When done, return all the meat to the pot and crank the heat to get things moving.
Add onion, bell pepper, paprika and tomato paste.
I emptied out my paprika jar for this shot. I think that’s the first spice this Adventure completely cleaned out. Fun!
Tomato paste adds richness to the stew.
Cover with water – we used about four cups.
Don’t forget to season it with salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer and cook for an hour and fifteen minutes, uncovered.
Add okra and cook for fifteen more minutes.
Serve hot with crusty bread and a smile.
For a traditional touch, serve with millet balls…
About lamb… from what I’ve read, if you were living in England 50 years ago and your family was poor, but not so poor that you couldn’t afford meat (and believe me there were many who were), you’d be eating lamb every day and you’d be sick of it. Now lamb has become an expensive luxury meat, and mutton, the mainstay of Dickens’ characters, is completely unavailable. By the way, when cooking lamb not in a stew, it is much better medium rare, pink in the middle.
By the way, I couldn’t believe they raise sheep in Chad, because sheep graze so close to the ground that they ruin the plant and it’s the best way to make an almost-desert land into real desert. But I checked and indeed sheep are common there. It’s a special breed (which doesn’t help the plants)
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/saheltype/index.htm
Thanks for this link Brian!
Yes, funny how trends and times change…
When I was like 9 or so, Keith, I think; Chris and I were at Moms for a holiday….I remember her serving lamb, instead of the traditional Turkey. I remember the sweetness of the meat, and the aroma in the air and she totally poured the blood in a glass and drank it. I always recall this memory when Lamb is mentioned, it kinda freaked me out..I had never eaten lamb nor drank meat blood before. LOL! Your meal looks delicious.
Well, Sasha, I originally found your blog while researching for my own culinary trip around the world (making a dish, not an entire meal, from each country). I stalled for about a year and this weekend, resumed with peanut butter rice from Central African Republic and Lamb stew from Chad. Both were wonderful and tasty. I’m glad to be back on track. Thanks for the inspiration!