Extreme Comfort Food

If you subscribe to the Not Just Vanilla's Facebook or Twitter page you will know that I took a short break from blogging while my Uncle D. was in the hospital. I am back with some amazing comfort food recipes. 

With a few long days in the hospital and lots of cold, icky weather... we were due for a week of soups, stews and just good comfort food!  My mom and I both love the Fine Cooking Magazine, and the newest issue is all about soups and stews.  This Lamb Tagine is so full of rich and exotic flavors. I love saffron, but I don't cook with it due to the cost. This dish is worth making again. It is a new family favorite and absolutely worth the cost of saffron. It is hard sometimes to get lamb with out going to Indianapolis, but this stew would be delicious with chicken or beef. Enjoy! I know you will love it.  

Lamb Tagine with Honey, Prunes, Onions and Toasted Almonds.
from Fine Cooking  Soups & Stews, Number 34 page 52
Serves 6
Moroccan tagines are stews that are best served over couscous or with chunks of warm, crusty bread.

16 pearl onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lb. lam stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes, or 1/2 leg of lamb cut into 1-inch cubes, bone reserved
1 medium onion, finely diced
10 threads Spanish saffron
1  1/2 cups homemade or lower-salt beef broth
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.8 teaspoon ground mace
1 cup (about 24) pitted prunes
20 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup whole almonds

Heat the oven to 375˚ F. In a small saucepan filled with boiling water, blanch the pearl onions for 1 minute. Drain and let cool. Peel the onions and set aside.
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches on all sides. Transfer the meat to a platter. Add the diced onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Grind the saffron in a mortar and pestle (or rub it between you fingers) and add it to the beef broth. Return the meat to the pot. Stir the saffron mixture into the pot with the lamb, along with any bones. Stir in the honey, turmeric, cinnamon, mage and prunes. Add the cilantro. Cover the pot tightly with foil and then with a lid. Put the pot in the oven and bake until the lamb is tender, about 50 minutes. Add the pearl onions, cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small dry nonstick frying pan, toast the almonds until golden. Set aside.
Remove the foil and lid. Carefully spoon off any grease. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1  1/2 teaspoon pepper. Return the pot, uncovered, to the oven, and let the sauce reduce slightly, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the tagine with the toasted almonds, Serve on rimmed plates or in shallow bowls.