Valley Bounty: Lamb
Lamb stews are wonderfully rich and warming. Use traditional New England stew fixings like carrots, onions and potatoes, or a mix of Middle Eastern spices, which bring out lamb’s complexity. Tagine, a lamb stew named for the clay pot it is cooked in, makes a fantastic meal to share with friends. Using cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and almonds, dried apricot, and raisins, the meal is full bodied and goes well with a mellow red wine.
By Abby Getman of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA).
Sources:
Sources of locally grown lamb can be found here:
- Lamb producers
- Winter farmers’ markets
- Winter CSAs, including meat CSAs
Recipes:
Kristin Nicholas of Leyden Glen Lamb has many good lamb recipes on her website, including a great tagine I’ve used many times and a traditional Irish stew.
This Deep Dish Lamb Pie, a variation on shepherd’s pie that includes winter squash, dried apricots, cumin, and almonds, is a staple in the home of CISA staffer Margaret Christie. She says “I’ve made this with and without dried apricots, mint leaves, and cilantro, and it’s good either way. I never add lemon rind, and almost never use saffron.”
