Mixing the savory with the sweet: lamb stew and dried fruit.

During the marathon of cookie baking that has been going on over the last two weekends (and is finally over!), I paused to do other things, both in and out of the kitchen. What I'm finding is that, if I continue with one project for hours and hours and hours, apart from physical fatigue, I develop and almost "mental" fatigue, and begin to resent what I'm doing. If you saw the wonderful movie "Like Water for Chocolate," (and if you haven't, SHAME ON YOU), you are very familiar with the consequences of bad emotions going through your head when you cook (Now, if I could only learn to channel the good ones and the "good, dirty ones, I'd be set...). So I have to pause, because no one wants a cookie that tastes bitter and of bile. So on one of those breaks, I made a lamb stew, with dried apricots.

I suppose this recipe is sort of Middle Eastern/Iranian. I'm not sure. I don't know enough about the cuisine to say that with definitiveness. The spicing is middle eastern, and the use of dried fruit in meat dishes is very characteristic of that part of the world (and Africa too, for that matter. I think that some of the more elaborate Renaissance recipes that caused the passing of the so-called "anti-sumptuary laws probably did, too, but I don't know).

For years, I have made a lamb stew recipe with quinces, and I've posted it here. It's a very good recipe, but it has a very different feel, and flavor profile than this dish does. There are similiarities. And it's a very easy dish to make, although it is one where you can't leave the house when you're cooking it. As the weather gets cold and bleak, that's probably a good thing (although today it is an unseasonable 62 degrees). Let's get started.

First, the meat. You need about 2.5-3 pounds of lamb. Now, the logical place to start is with what is sold as "stew meat." Honestly, I don't see a point in buying this, unless you are dead on sure of what you're getting. I find that my stews work much better if I buy a boneless piece of lamb stew, and cube it myself. I can make the pieces as big or small as I like, and I know that they're uniform. Makes cooking much easier. It doesn't take long to cube a shoulder that is about 3 pounds. Maybe five minutes? Once you have the cubes, pat them dry, salt them and pepper them, and put them aside (if you think ahead, you can salt them the night before and refrigerate, but don't use the pepper until the next day).

Collect your spices. You will need a half teaspoon each of ground coriander, ground cinnamonm, and a quarter teaspoon of saffron. Saffron quality varies. Look for a longer strand of spice, rather than a powder or anything like that. You will also want to chop up two large onions. Also, have some chicken stock ready (the original recipe, like the quince stew, calls for water. Chicken stock makes it better). Finally, get half a pound of dried apricots.

Let's address the question of dried apricots for a minute. You can get California apricots, or Turkish apricots. The "rule" amongst cooks is that Turkish apricots are better, more tasty, and that they need more cooking time. As a general matter, I agree. But you can get delicious California apricots, especially organic ones. Honestly, though, in this dish, I think the standard, beautiful non-organic ones are fine. It will simplify your cooking if you use those, but if you are willing to spend the time, by all means go with organic or Turkish.

If your dried apricots are not soft, then you will have to cover them with water and let them soak for about an hour. You can start that half an hour or so before you begin making your stew, because you won't need them for a while.

Pour two tablespoons of olive oil, and add two tablespoons of unsalted butter (or, go with oil, all the way), into a pot and heat it at medium fire. Add the lamb cubes and brown them. Be patient. If they all don't fit comfortably in the pot, do it in batches. It is REAL important that you get this meat nice and brown because once you start the stewing, the possibility of getting color on the meat is gone. It will probably take you at least ten minutes to get it cooked nice and brown. As the cubes are cooked, put them aside in a bowl.

In my original recipe, it calls upon you to now get rid of most of the fat, and add the onions. I didn't do that, and I'm glad I didn't. If you do not use very fatty lamb, you will need that fat to cook these onions. Lower the heat, and cook them for a full 5-7 minutes. Stir while you're doing this. You don't want them to brown, but you want them soft.

When the onions are done, add the meat back to the pot, and stir in the spices. Now, cover everything - just BARELY cover it - with chicken stock. Let it come to a simmer, lower the heat, and let it cook away for half an hour.

Near the end of that half hour, drain the apricots. Save the water. Cut them into small pieces. Add the fruit and the water to the stew, and cook away, covered, for another hour or so. Check occasionally to check the liquid level. You don't want this to dry out, but you also don't want soup. Add stock as you need to. Near the end of the hour, check the seasonings by tasting a bit of the broth and a small (OK, a BIG ) piece of the lamb. You want it to be very tender.

It is interesting that if you cook this on the stove top as I did, you will get a drier dish, than if you move your pot into the oven, and let it cook away at 325 or so for the length of time given in the recipe. That's the nature of how close the fire is to what you are cooking.

This is really an eye opening dish. And I hope it inspires you to try it with other dried fruit. Figs perhaps, or dates, or even apples? I am also trying to get my hands on some dried persimmons, because I think the combination is going to be a good one. And you now have a general stewing/braising recipe, that you can use with other meats. For example, there is a wonderful dish of chicken braised with dried figs, and there is also one that I have seen of pork and pears. Those of you more clever than I will come up with more combinations. Use your imagination, but use it wisely. Think carefully before you decide that a potroast with dried cranberries is in your future....