Lamb Stew with Kidney Beans, Fenugreek, and Green Onions (Gormeh Sabzi)
/
It’s been a while since my last post, and that’s because I was off the grid on vacation in Central America and wasn’t cooking a darned thing!
Now that Adrian and I are back from our Panamanian adventures, we’re super ready to cook up some amazing meals. For our first home-cooked dish, we were craving some serious comfort food. For us, comfort food is this lamb stew, the recipe being passed down from Adrian’s dad’s side of the family. Adrian’s aunt taught us how to make a few of his grandma’s stews, and we are forever indebted to her for that, because his grandma was an amazing home chef. According to Adrian’s dad, we make her food just right, which is a very very nice compliment coming from him and considering the talents of his mother.
I can see some readers pondering this dish and wondering if it can be made with beef instead, and it can! I’ve also heard that chicken fares well too. As an additional tip: Fenugreek can be purchased easily online if you don’t have it already. It’s a necessary ingredient to bring everything together: it’s mapley and imbues the lamb with wonderful flavor. Lastly, if you like beef stew or any other lamb stew, this will top them all. It’s even a little healthier with the beans and all of the herbs. So go ahead and make this one! Then let me know what you think.
Lamb Stew with Kidney Beans, Fenugreek, and Green Onions (Gormeh Sabzi)
Time: 1 Hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup canola oil, divided
1 medium-large onion, sliced thin
1 lb lamb leg or lamb stew meat
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. turmeric
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Steamed basmati rice, to serve
Sabzi (Herb & Vegetable platter)
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch tarragon
1 small bunch green onions
1 bunch mint
Directions
Heat 1/2 cup canola oil in a large pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, sautéing them until golden-brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add lamb, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Stir the ingredients and keep on high heat until the lamb is a pinkish brown. Then cover the mixture with water, a little below lamb level. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Cover with lid.
While the lamb mixture is simmering, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a small frying pan. Add green onions and fry until the oil has coated the green onions generously, but do not let get too soft, about 1 minute. Add to the pot with the lamb mixture when done and replace lid while pot is still boiling.
In the same frying pan, sauté parsley for about 2-3 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of dried fenugreek, stir, and add to lamb mixture and replace lid. Keep on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Once the lamb-mixture has cooked for ten minutes (or until the lamb is tender to taste), remove the lid and add kidney beans and lemon juice to the pot and keep on medium-low heat for ten minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Serve over rice with a platter of radishes and herbs.
