Lamb Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses
Lamb Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses
This past week has been culinarily challenging for me, mostly due to a severe case of foodblock. Sure, I cooked tasty food this week, but it hasn’t been anything new and exciting. What I really needed was inspiration.
Backtrack to a month ago when @SuperDaniela was in town and we walked down to The Spice House in Old Town, one of my favorite shopping spots. We spent a good amount of time walking around smelling the merchandise, something you can’t do just anywhere.
At one point I came across bottles of pomegranate molasses, an ingredient I’d never heard of. Daniela was familiar with it and told me it’s popular in Middle Eastern cuisine and often used as a marinade or glaze for meat or chicken. Interesting to learn, I filed that tidbit away in the my head for a later date.
Well, a later date came this weekend when I was starved for inspiration and needed an adventurous and challenging new ingredient to get me back in the kitchen. So I walked back over to The Spice House and bought a small bottle of pomegranate molasses for $3.56. Then, after much internal back-and-forth, I decided to make a stew with lamb, lentils and pomegranate molasses.
The lamb, lentils and fresh herbs create a filling and earthy stew while the pomegranate molasses gives it a tangy kick, offset by a smidgen of smoked paprika. The flavor is unique but in an appealing, exotic way.
As for me, I’m just happy I got my cooking mojo back.
Here’s the recipe for lamb lentil stew with pomegranate molasses:
