Lamb stewed with plums

20130421-180644.jpgThis was the other dish that I cooked as part of my Eastern Mediterranean feast on Saturday. Fruit and meat might seem like a weird combination on the face of it – I know when I was a fussy eating kid, I detested any savoury dish with fruit in it. But these days, I love the sweet and savoury combination of flavours. With a buttery pilaf (recipe coming soon!) and a vegetable side dish (courgettes cooked in yoghurt work well, incidentally).

Give it a go and see what you think.

Serves: 5

Time needed: 10 mins prep, 1 hr cooking

What you need

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

500g lamb, chopped into small pieces

1 tbsp flour (for coating the lamb)

400ml chicken stock

4 medium plums, washed, pitted and cut into quarters

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp chopped parsley

How to make it

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan, then fry the onions til they start to change colour. Next, add the garlic and the cumin and coriander seeds. Stir fry for a few minutes.
  2. Now prepare the lamb. Place the flour in a bowl and toss the lamb pieces in it until evenly coated. Add them to the pan and cook until browned on all sides.
  3. Add the stock next. Bring the pan to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the lamb is tender and cooked through.
  4.  Add the quartered plums to the dish, then check the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Re-cover the pan and simmer for another 20 minutes until the fruit is cooked.
  5. Serve garnished with parsley.
Category : Main courses, Meat, Turkish
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