The weather is cooling down and the time for heavier dishes is almost here. However, it’s still not the time for very heavy dishes, so here is an easy to assemble solution.
In this stew, the lamb is not coated with flour and is braised in a fairly light sauce, that relies mostly on onions, peppers, cilantro and light tomato sauce for flavor. The gentle cooking and braising keep the shape and color of the vegetables, while the meat is tender and falls off the bones.
All this creates a perfect dish for the fall. I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ll try it.
Notes:
* Since mini peppers have delicate skin, removing the skin is not necessary. I cut them into large pieces, so that they will keep their shape.
* I’ve used my quick and homemade cherry tomatoes sauce (find the recipe HERE), which is light and has natural sweetness to it. If you’re using store bought sauce, use one that is mildly flavored and not too chunky
* This dish is perfect for easy entertaining, as it can be made a day in advance. In fact, the flavor will be even better. Keep in the fridge in a tightly covered pot and bring to room temperature before reheating gently on medium-low heat.
Makes: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
2 large sweet onions, sliced thick
2 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp Cayenne
2.2 lbs (1 kg) lamb shoulder, bone in
12-14 mini peppers, halved, seeds removed
1 cup fruity white wine
1 cup beef stock
1 Tbs honey (preferably orange blossom)
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped + for serving
1 cup tomato sauce (see notes)
1. Heat the oil in a large shallow pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, paprika and Cayenne. Mix and sauté until the onions start to soften. With a spatula, push them to one side of the pot and add the lamb. Fry the lamb for 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Spread the onions all over the pot and place the lamb on top. Add the peppers and mix gently. Add the white wine, beef stock and honey and top with cilantro and tomato sauce. Cover the pot and bring to the boil, tilling the pot gently to mix the ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200F (93C). Place the covered pot in the oven and braise for 1 hour. Uncover the pot, taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Place the uncovered pot back in the oven for half an hour.
3. At this point the stew can be served immediately, but it will taste even better if kept in the fridge overnight and reheated gently the following day.
Nice colors
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Thank you Steve, I liked them too. Seemed to go well with this season. 🙂
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The baby peppers are such a nice touch!
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Thank you Dolly! The mini peppers added so much flavor, and I love their color in this dish. 🙂
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I have a Tunisian friend who makes a lamb stew with red and green peppers, which is also a beautiful splash of colors, and a nice flavor as well, but your baby peppers are just so dainty! Thanks for the idea.
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My pleasure! 🙂
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Love recipes like this that look so good and can be made in advance. Do you think that beef would work as well?
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Hi Joyce, great to hear from you! I’m glad you liked the recipe.
Yes, you can substitute the lamb with beef. I would suggest thick cut bone in beef chuck steaks for this one. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Best regards and Shana Tova to all! 🙂
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I thought that I responded to the Sephardic recipes as well. They inspired me. It’s possible that I didn’t do so correctly.
Best wishes to you for a great New Year – Shana Tova!!
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It could also be some system error. In any case, I’m very glad to hear the Sephardic recipes are an inspiration. I like them too and hope to add more later on. Happy holidays and Shana Tova to all! 🙂
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This looks so delicious, I love the colors.
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Thank you Myra, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It was indeed delicious and the colors were so suitable for this season. 🙂
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Nice recipe! I feel like making lamb now:)
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Thank you Olga, I’m glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
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Looks so ymmy !!! Very good presentation, Thanks Ronit for sharing
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Thank you Khadija, It’s my pleasure to share. I’m glad you liked the dish. The colors made presentation very easy. 🙂
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Ronit,
What a spectacular dish with such an amazing combination of flavors! I am crazy about lamb dishes and have book marked this to try soon.I got some mini peppers this week too- love their flavor and color.
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Thank you Sandhya, I’m glad you liked the dish. I too love lamb but felt a heavier stew would not be suitable for the weather. So this one was a very tasty compromise! I hope you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂
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This looks like a perfect autumn stew. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about easy menus for entertaining. I like that this dish can be made in advance
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m glad you liked the dish. It indeed turned out perfect for this time of the year.
I remember the discussion we had about menu planning and such a dish is what I mentioned. Preparing dishes ahead makes for much more enjoyable entertaining experience. 🙂
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Oh! This is one of my favourite recipes.The colours are amazing.
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Thank you Anuradha, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I too loved the colors of the dish. Will definitely make it again. 🙂
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I make a lamb stew without the bones but I am sure this adds additional flavor. Great sauce too with wine, tomato sauce and beef stock. The grocery stores are selling packages of those little sweet peppers and what a good way to use them 🙂
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The sauce turned out very light and tasty and yes, the bones add lots of flavor. I love mini peppers and by now I use them more often than regular ones. 🙂
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I grew these mini peppers a couple of years ago – maybe next year I will again 🙂
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Home grown would definitely be even better. 🙂
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I love lamb dishes and this one looks extremely delicious!
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Thank you Aspassia, I’m glad you liked my version. It’s very light and simple and I loved how it came out. Will definitely make it again. 🙂
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Delicious and gorgeous and perfect for autumn!
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Thank you Annika, I’m glad you liked my version. It’s very light and tasty and I plan to make it again before the very cold weather is here. 🙂
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Ronit – wow! sorry for this “teenager language” but this is a perfect word for me to express my joy to see this stew here. Whereever I have lived in the world, tropics or not, a stew-pot was always on the go. And I agree with you, the bones add tremendously to the final flavour – in fact JS will not have any kind of stew without bones and ‘my’ butcher in our Hypermarket is used to us always taking away 1/2 kg of beef, veal or mutton bones. Pictures are lovely, too – very colourful and inviting. Thanks and hugs, Carina
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Thank you Carina, for your lovely enthusiastic comment!
I love stews and was eagerly waiting for the weather to cool down a bit, to start making them. I came up with this lighter version because it was still not cold enough, but I’ve had enough with waiting!
Totally with you on the bones issue -they add so much flavor. I’m now waiting for some colder days to prepare a decent Ossobuco, and have some stewed bone marrow on crusty bread. Primal and amazing! 🙂
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Looks delicious! Can pork be substituted? Yesterday did up a huge sliced pork roast by browning the chops in the cast iron skillet, and then into two Crock-Pots for a bit over an hour. They are in the freezer awaiting inspiration.
Sautéed four onions in the skillet, then into the resultant broth from the chops. Now I have a bunch of side dishes of onions, onion soup concentrate, and a bunch of delicious broth.
Love those mini peppers. This week red peppers are 3/$.99, but when they are more expensive, the mini ones are a great substitute. They keep well (with the Fresh Paper) and add color and flavor.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Thank you Judie, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I didn’t try it with pork, but see no reason why it will not work well, though I think lamb is more flavorful.
Sounds like you had a very fruitful cooking spree! 🙂
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My freezer overfloweth!
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Oh what a wonderful sight for sore eyes! Love this flavorful lamb stew Ronit. I just love lamb cooked this way, it sure retained its colors and I can only imagine the flavors. It has gotten considerably cooler here, a bit of a shock to the system actually since we were in the 90’s all through the summer. So your dish has inspired me to cook some comforting dishes, and lamb will definitely be first 🙂
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Thank you Loretta, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I was looking for a lighter version suitable for this season , and it worked well. Looking forward to seeing your lamb dishes too. 🙂
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Loving it! Such balance of color, texture and flavor.
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Thank you Heenie, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It turned out really nice. 🙂
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Love your stew! I will try this when it gets a little bit cooler.
Btw, I had been away for a while and came back with some halva (not Israeli though). Very happy 🙂
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Thank you! The stew turned out perfect for this season. Not heavy at all.
I’m glad you had a nice time and got some tasty Halva! Looking forward to your posts about it. 🙂
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New Post: My Halva collection – vanilla, choc and pistachio 😀
Oh, also tried and bought Greek Halva for the first time but a bit different….
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Looking forward to that! 🙂
I once bought Greek halva with mastiha in it. Very unique flavor. Also found Turkish halva to be quite good. They have a type that looks like thin airy stings that melt in the mouth. Addictive! 🙂
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Very interesting… I need some research on halva/halwa !!
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I love cooking with mini peppers, and they couldn’t be in a more delicious dish. This really is perfect for fall…yum!
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Thank you Antonia, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The mini peppers added so much flavor and color. 🙂
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Such a colorful dish and great way to welcome fall, Ronit. I do enjoy this time of year and lamb is a frequent main on my table. Never prepared a stew that included mini-peppers. though. I need to do something about that. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Thank you John, I’m glad you liked this recipe. I cook lamb quite often so try to come up with new ways with it. I loved how the flavor and color the mini peppers added. Will definitely use it again. 🙂
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I adore peppers in any shape or form and those mini peppers add vibrant colors to this dish and also love that this is a one pot wonder…delicious!
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Thank you Marisa! I agree, one pot dishes are so great for easy entertainment. I too love peppers and loved how they kept their color through the lengthy braising time. This one is a keeper. 🙂
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Wow very vibrant! An absolute treat to the taste buds. Thanks for this share Ronit.
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Thank you Sumith, I’m glad you liked this stew. I loved how light it is, compared to most lamb stews I make. It was just perfect for the season. Soon it will be the time for heavier ones… 🙂
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Perfect!! 🙂
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Thank you Tonya! 🙂
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