Afghani lamb with spinach

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2½ pounds Lamb stew meat
;preferably leg
⅓ cup Olive oil
¾ pounds Onions, diced large
4 teaspoons Chopped garlic
2 teaspoons Turmeric
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
¼ teaspoon Ground cardamom
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
;or to taste
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
1 can Tomatoes (32 oz.)
;drained and chopped
1 cup Rich brown veal stock or-
1 cup Rich beef stock
⅓ pounds Fresh spinach
;washed and drained
½ cup Yogurt
1 tablespoon Grated lemon peel
Salt to taste
¼ cup Pine nuts *

Directions

* Roasted in a 350 F oven for about 3 minutes.

Sear lamb in the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onions; saute them for 2 minutes; then add the garlic and saute it for 1 minute. Put in the turmeric, nutmeg, cardamom, crushed red pepper and cinnamon and saute the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes more, being careful not to burn the onions or garlic. Add the tomatoes and veal or beef stock and stir.

Cover the dish and bake in a 350 F oven for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender and begins to break up. Remove the dish from the oven and add the spinach, stirring until the spinach is wilted and blended in. Allow the stew to cool slightly. Add the yogurt, lemon peel and salt to taste. Sprinkle with roasted pine nuts.

Recipe from executive chef Phil Soroko of Someplace Special restaurant in McLean, VA. In "The New Carry-Out Cuisine" by Phyllis Meras with Linda Glick Conway. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986. Pg. 128. ISBN 0-395-42504-2.

Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 02-22-95

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