Braised lamb

Braised lamb II
Originally uploaded by Cakelaw

I love the September 2007 edition of Cuisine, which is full of delicious citrus recipes. A savoury dish which caught my eye is Braised Lamb with Preserved Lemon and Lemon Coriander Jam on page 70.

I didn't have preserved lemons, and wasn't going to make the lemon coriander jam. However, the braised lamb itself was delicious, like a thick, rich stew made on the stove top.

The dish comprises lamb, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, potatoes and spinach leaves, flavoured with turmeric, coriander and beef stock. I substituted diced lamb shoulder for lamb stir fry, preserved lemon peel with fresh lemon zest, coriander seeds with fresh coriander, and spinach leaves with baby spinach leaves. Despite these substitutions, made on the pragmatic basis of what I had in the cupboard, I was very happy with the result.

This dish was served with boiled rice, and made a very satisfying winter meal.