MOROCCAN LAMB STEW

Stew is the worst word. Moist is actually the worst. Or bulbous. Ointment? There are a lot of awful words. But with stew, its phonics bely the glory of what actually ends up on your plate. Meat that melts in your mouth, depth with a hint of spice, and that warm hands on the bowl feeling that you need to put your snuggie on and hit the tivo stat. And even though lamb can sometimes be a bit, well, lamby, this recipe has enough other stuff going on to not get eclipsed by gaminess. The chickpeas, zucchini, and spinach all add a bit of healthy heft to the meal and the reduced Carmenere is perfect with the Morrocan spice blend tying the whole thing together. I know it looks like a million ingredients, but it's all basic pantry items, and basically four steps (meat+onions+deglaze+stew) so don't get intimidated by the laundry list. So snuggle up and enjoy a bowl of the good stuff!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs lamb shoulder (leg is ok too), cubed

Spice Rub

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 whole star anise

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground pepper

1 teaspoon chili flake

2 yellow onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon cumin seeds, crushed

1 tablespoon oregano, finely chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (I cook mine with garlic and rosemary)

2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 medium zucchini, quartered and chopped

1 lb baby spinach leaves

1 quart(ish) Chicken Stock

1 cup red wine (I used a carmenere, though anything full bodied would work, such as malbec or cabs)

Olive Oil

First off, have your butcher cube your lamb. It's tedious and super annoying. You want small, one inch bite size pieces. Take all of the spice rub ingredients and either bash in a mortar and pestle, or grind together in a spice grinder. Pat the lamb dry, and rub the spice mix into it. In small batches (it will probably take you four to six shifts), brown your meat over medium high heat in the pot you're using for soup. The smaller the batches, the better it browns, and no one likes grey meat. Set meat aside and in the pot, brown your onions and herbs (thyme, oregano, and rosemary) adding olive oil if needed. This will take about 10 minutes. When the onions are ready, add the wine and reduce by half. Add all of the other ingredients except for the spinach and chicken stock. Stir to combine, and add enough stock to not quite cover everything. Let the stew simmer for an hour or two, adding stock if necessary and smashing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with your spoon. In the last 10-15 minutes add the spinach. Garnish with a little feta or just serve plain. Enjoy!