The Hunger Games trilogy is incredibly captivating. It sucked me in from the very first page and kept me going until the end. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Anyway….in the books, the author constantly describes food. She expresses tastes, smells, and cravings so intensely that you’re tempted to put down her book to cook! So in honor of the Hunger Games, I decided to make one of the main dishes in the book – lamb stew with dried plums. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked online (none of them were unique or special enough to capture the spirit of the books), so I came up with this one!
Because the stew comes from the affluent Capitol, I decided to cook with red onions and eggplant…since the color purple often symbolizes wealth. The honey and dried plums provide the same sticky sweetness that’s indicative of The Capitol’s citizens. The vegetables and lamb are simmered in a simple but powerful broth of beef, red wine, and rosemary. Since the flavors are new to Katniss (the main character), I wanted some sort of surprise. So I added in cinnamon, ginger, and cilantro. The result is uniquely exotic but familiar…like a mix of Moroccan, French, English, and Armenian flavors.
Right before serving, sprinkle on black sesame seeds for a subtle nutty note (regular sesame seeds work well too, but the black ones make the stew more elegantly mysterious…just like The Capitol). Katniss Everdeen and my parents LOVE this slightly sweet stew filled with tender vegetables and luscious lamb in a mouth watering wine plum sauce. So definitely make it…and read the books for some food inspiration!
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb Australian lamb loin
1 tablespoon butter
1 red onion (quartered and sliced)
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
3 carrots (cut into chunks)
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ eggplant (cubed)
1 ½ potatoes (cubed…you can use 2 if you want extra ‘taters)
1 tablespoon mustard
2 sprigs rosemary (≈2 teaspoons chopped)
5 sprigs cilantro
1 can beef broth
¼ cup red wine (I use a red Californian table wine)
4 oz prunes (each cut in half)
2 tablespoons honey
Black sesame seeds to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt/pepper and then lay in the pot. Brown both sides of the lamb (about 1-2 minutes per side). Remove meat from pot (put on a plate). Reserve.
Switch heat to medium-low. Add butter and onion to the pot. Cook for about 3-5 minutes (until slightly tender). Add garlic, cinnamon, ginger, and carrots. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute before adding in the eggplant, potatoes, rosemary, and mustard. Sprinkle in some salt/pepper. Stir to combine.
Put lamb back into the pot. Stir to combine. Place the sprigs of cilantro on top of everything (you’ll be removing these later). Pour in the wine and beef broth. Bring to boil. As soon as it boils, reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer for 1 ½ hours.
Uncover. Stir in plums and honey. Cover. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
Remove the sprigs of cilantro.
Serve hot with crusty bread! Oh, and a garnish with some sesame seeds and chopped cilantro!
Enjoy!
5 comments
Grilled Garlic Herb Lamb | Feeding My Folks says:
Sep 17, 2012
[…] I was surprised I didn’t have to encourage my family to eat this dish. Even though I made lamb recently I was SURE that they would need to be persuaded. Good thing I didn’t put money on it because […]
Stapleton’s Californian Gourmet d’Agen Pitted Prunes (Dried Plums) | Feeding My Folks | Feeding My Folks says:
Jul 19, 2012
[…] addictive, try not to devour the whole bag before cooking with a few of them! Actually, cooking my lamb stew with prunes recipe is what introduced me to Stapleton’s…but not in the way you might think. I had never cooked […]
Rivaldo says:
May 20, 2012
Beef StewINGREDIENTS:10 small new potatoes, havled, unpeeled12 small whole white onions, peeled, fresh or frozen, thawed30 baby carrots, 8 ounces1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes2 cups beef broth1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano1/4 teaspoon paprika1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1/2 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon pepper3 tablespoons cornstarch3 tablespoons cold waterPREPARATION:Place potatoes, onions, and baby carrots in slow cooker. Add bell pepper and beef. In small bowl, combine broth, oregano, paprika, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW 9 to 10 hrs. Turn pot on HIGH. In small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water; stir into cooked stew mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH 15 to 20 mins. or until thickened, stirring occasionally. ~*-*~
Ihatetherecipe! says:
Apr 1, 2012
No wild rice????!!!!!! I can hardly even see the plums!!!
Dinora says:
May 20, 2012
Customize as you wish Slow Cooker Beef Stew 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes1/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 tepaoson salt1/2 tepaoson ground black pepper1 clove garlic, minced1 bay leaf1 tepaoson paprika1 tepaoson Worcestershire sauce1 onion, chopped1 1/2 cups beef broth3 potatoes, diced4 carrots, sliced1 stalk celery, chopped Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SUPERB beef stew! I took the great base recipe, and tweaked it with a compilation of reviewer recommendations. The end result is a winner, to be sure. Here is what I did (and I won’t change a thing the next time I make it): 1. Increase flour to 1/3 cup and substitute seasoned salt for regular salt. Put flour mixture into gallon-sized, zippered bag. Shake beef in bag to coat. Saute9 coated beef in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until browned. Add chopped onion to beef to saute9 and soften. Transfer to slow cooker. 2. Mix beef broth (I used Swanson’s Certified Organic in aseptic carton) with 1 TABLEspoon Worcestershire and bd cup red wine. Pour into hot skillet to deglaze, then pour over beef and onions in cooker. 3. Add remaining ingredients with these additions: increase garlic to 2 cloves minced, 2 bay leaves; add 1 packet McCormick’s Beef Stew Seasoning. Your home will smell wonderful all day, and your meal will be a savory feast! I served the stew in bowls, accompanied by slices of fresh, crusty bread.