Novel Nibbles: The Hunger Games Lamb Stew with Dried Plums

“What’s impressed you most since you arrived here?” I rack my brain for something that made me happy here. Be honest, I think. Be honest.”The lamb stew,” I get out. Caesar laughs, and vaguely I realize some of the audience has joined in.
“The one with the dried plums?” asks Caesar. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
For this Hunger Games inspired stew I simply adapted a classic Lamb Tagine recipe from  Classic Recipe Collection by Sainsbury’s swapping the traditional dried apricots for prunes.
Serves 4

100g Dried Plums i.e, Prunes soaked in 50mls Orange Juice and 30mls of boiling water for at least 1 hour
1 TBS Olive Oil
450-500g Diced Lamb
1 Onion, Peeled and Chopped
2 medium sized Sweet Potatoes
1 Clove of Garlic (I used 1 tsp of the lazy stuff!)
2cm piece of fresh Ginger (1TBS of Lazy Ginger)
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Ground Cumin
1x 400g Tin of Tomatoes
1/2 Glass of Red Wine
300mls of Stock ( I used chicken)
1TBS Honey (yuck! I exchanged this for maple syrup!)

Using the oil, brown the lamb in batches and keep warm

In the same pan add the onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, ginger and spices and cook for a couple of min’s

Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes and wine. Cook until reduced by half and then add lamb, stock, honey and prune mixture.

You can either cover the pan and simmer for approx 45mins, until the lamb and potatoes are tender or, like me place in a slow cooker and leave it to bubble away for most of the day.

The finished stew, served with couscous

Verdict: I have to say that I thought that the stew was absolutely delicious and even better than the original tagine. My taste testers Ava 4.5 and  Seth 2.5 gobbled it up without complaint. I will definitely be making this again!
Post by Caroline