Braised Cardamom-Curry Lamb is a dish that’s not meant to be this week. First, it received the substitution treatment. Then I ran out of cooking time. Next I switched to a different cooking method. Finally I returned to it hours later with some surprising results. Is it still a dish I am proud to serve? I will let the photo do the talking.
What I have here is a slow cooked veal stew in cardamom curry, sweetened with russet apples, figs, mint, and honey. The chunks of new Yukon Gold potato absorbed all the complex flavours and are true delights. There is not a hint of spicy heat in this curry. The ingredients truly reflect its multicultural influences including Indian, Moroccan, and a bit of French. The use of veal undoubtedly nudged the dish more to its European roots but I’m okay with it. I served it with an equally multicultural avocado chickpea salad in a ginger cardamom vinaigrette. The vinaigrette burst with tastes of freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced ginger, cardamom, cumin, and smoked paprika. The creamy yet bright salad was a good partner to the rich warming veal stew.
Let’s talk about all the contingency plans I employed while making this dish. First off, three pounds of boneless lamb shoulder. I was lucky enough to dodge the bullet two weeks ago with duck breast I bought earlier on sale. But at $8.99/lb, this recipe was shaping up to be another Second Mortgage Dinner. After much deliberation at the butcher, I went with boneless veal shoulder. It’s a little fancier than beef with a milder taste. I thought it ought to work well.
What went outside of my calculation was the fact that veal and lamb cook differently. I started the braise at the crack of dawn expecting to have everything cook and photograph before work. Far from it! The connective tissues from the veal are much tougher and they took their time with little regard of my schedule. So in my last minute frenzy to rush out the door, everything went from my nicely arranged sauteuse to my trusty slow cooker. Like so.
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Fortunately I had the presence of mind to remove a few pieces of apples before setting the slow cooker. The apples definitely cannot withstand such long hours of cooking without breaking apart. I came home in the evening and the stew already endured 7 hours of cooking plus 2 hours of warming. The jus significantly reduced and quite a few pieces of veal were exposed and browned. I didn’t even know my slow cooker is capable of browning meat. On the bright side, everything was cooked fork tender by now and I didn’t even need to adjust seasoning. I stirred in the reserved apple pieces and let the stew chill in the fridge overnight. It definitely tasted better the next morning.
So it tastes great and everyone’s happy, right? Not quite. It’s the dreaded brown dish of food bloggers! My solution was to serve it with a vibrantly coloured salad of avocado, chickpeas, and red onion. Seeing that pop of colour in a glass. I’m happy at last. I have long been a fan of Bal Arneson’s healthy Indian recipes and this one is no exception. Her sensibility in the kitchen of combining traditional Indian flavours with North American ingredients won my devotion. Her cookbook Bal's Quick and Healthy Indian
It snowed last night! And the temperature has decidedly taken a dip for good. I cannot imagine a better dish than this warming Cardamom-Curry Veal to curl up at home with. Don’t forget to check out other French Fridays with Dorie member’s rendition of this dish. Oh and there is still time to enter my giveaway! You can find the entry details here.
Return Of Candy’s Pick!
- Tasty Trix dialled up the spice factor with her own blend of fresh grind spices for a south Asian take on the dish. Plus I love the photos.
- A Mama, Baby and Shar-Pei in the Kitchen has some very exciting news to share this week.
- One Wet Foot told us about her very unusual way to source the ingredients for this dish!
