Algerian Lamb Stew With Couscous

The best way to start about this stew is when you go to your butcher for the lamb meat, see if you can get a couple of lamb bones. You then can use the bones to make some lamb broth for the stew. As for the meat, you can get already cut lamb stew meat, or you can hopefully get your butcher to cut the meat for you, the shoulder is best, but leg meat is also good for this. I bought a small leg portion and the butcher cut the meat off the bone for me and so I got the meat and the bone AND I didn't lose a finger or two cutting it myself; although you know, the butcher did have his hand wrapped in bandages when he brought the meat to me. And that one piece of meat had a bone in it ... you don't think? Nah! Now, if you have a good sharp knife and can do this yourself, you're all set; otherwise, buying already cut lamb stew meat won't condemn you to the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert with just two thimbles of water.

This stew is lightly spiced, so the spice flavors are more subtle and you'll have lots of vegetables to brag about eating. I've listed salt as optional in the couscous, as likely the broth and the butter both have salt, so you'll have to decide on that. Couscous is a pasta of semolina. In North Africa it is tiny bits of semolina, and it is usually called "Moroccan couscous," but in the Middle East it is larger and naturally takes somewhat longer to cook (Israeli couscous and Lebanese couscous).

 

Ingredients:

 

For the stew:

 

1 1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into bite size pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped carrot

2 cups chopped zucchini

2 cups peeled and chopped potatoes

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 can chickpeas (14 to 16 ounce can, also known as garbanzo peas/beans), drained and rinsed

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped 

5 cups broth (or water)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons chopped mint (or dried)

 

If you have lamb bones, start this ahead of time by just putting them into a pan and covering them with water. They don't have to sing, dance or tell jokes. Bring the water to a boil and then adjust the heat to keep the bones at a good steady simmer for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the various vegetables to have them ready to go. In a pot or large sauce pan, add the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and stir, then a couple of minutes later add the garlic and the lamb. Brown the lamb, stirring and turning it. Add the carrot, zucchini, potatoes and celery, then add the cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, black pepper and salt. Stir to mix everything well, then add the broth (if using the broth from the lamb bones, it will already be hot). Bring the stew to a simmer, turn the heat to low or to whatever setting on your stove that will just maintain a gentle simmer for the stew. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and let simmer and let cook for 45 to 50 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and the chickpeas and stir to mix. Leave the lid or foil off of the pan and let the stew cook for another 30 to 40 minutes. If using dried mint, add it to the stew in the last 10 minutes of cooking. If using fresh mint, just stir it in at the end. Meanwhile, as the stew cooks during the last 15 to 20 minutes, prepare the couscous (see below). For each serving, serve the stew over a bed of couscous.    

For the Couscous:

1 1/2 cups Moroccan couscous

1 2/3 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 

(optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan (with a lid). Add the butter, olive oil and salt (if using). Add the couscous and stir very well to mix. Let cook like 30 or 40 seconds, then shut off the heat and cover the pan with a lid for about 5 to 6 minutes. The broth should be completely absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork.   

WORD HISTORY: 

Comment-This word is used as both a noun and a verb. It is a prefixed word, with the main part of the word, "ment," being related to "dement," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French, and "mental," another Latin-derived word, perhaps borrowed via French, but with Latin reinforcement (or the other way around), and to "mind," a word from the Germanic roots of English. This goes back to Indo European "men," which had the notion, "to think, to have a state of mind." This gave Latin the verb "memin(isse)," which meant, "to remember." "Com-" and its variant form "con-" are common prefixes in Latin, and generally mean "together, with," or they serve to intensify the main body of a word. The two parts gave Latin "comminisci," meaning, "to devise, to invent," but also negatively, "to fabricate, to feign." This gave Latin the noun "commentum," derived from a participle form of "comminisci," and meaning, "a scheme, an invention, a fabrication," but also, "an interpretation;" thus, "a comment or commentary." This was taken into Latin-based Old French as "coment" (yes, one 'm'), also meaning "comment or commentary." English borrowed the word from French (but with reinforcement from Latin) in the late 1300s with the meaning, "an explanation, a written or spoken remark." Latin also had the verb "commentare" (earlier "commentari"?), meaning, "to think over in detail, to strongly consider, to write remarks and considerations about." This was borrowed by English in the early part of the 1400s, with the spelling likely influenced by the already borrowed noun.