Cozy Lamb Apricot Stew

Friday was a yucky rainy day followed by a yucky rainy night, and I was in the mood to just stay in and cook something comforting and delicious.  After ingratiating myself in the fascinating world of meat the night before at the Food Film Festival, I wanted to experiment with something different, so I chose lamb.

Loving the method of slow-cooking something and letting those deep, rich meaty smells permeate the space of our apartment, I chose a lamb and apricot stew that I spotted in the November issue of Everyday Food magazine.  Spruced up with diced tomatoes, lots of onion, Turkish apricots that have so much flavor and a little bit of ginger too, it was the perfect delight for a rainy fall night.  You don't need much else with it except for a small piece of bread (or you can eat it on its own like we did) - and like all good stews, it's even better the next day.

Lamb and Apricot Stew, courtesy of Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 tbs of olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of boneless lamb stew meat
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 two-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup of dried apricots
Toasted sliced almonds for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned for 9 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a plate.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened, for about 5 minutes.  Return lamb to pot, along with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon and 2 cups of water; season with salt and pepper.

Cover and transfer to oven; cook for about 45 minutes.  Stir in apricots, cover and cook until lamb is tender, for about 45 minutes more.  Serve stew sprinkled with almonds.