Paleo Moroccan Lamb Stew

A hearty and comforting meal in a bowl with warming spices, creamy potatoes, hidden veggies, and tender chunks of lamb.

For the printable recipe click here.

​School may be about to let out for summer, but back-to-back storms make it feel like soup weather around here.

Today's recipe is the perfect solution. With rich, meaty lamb, filling veggies, and loads of warm spices, this cozy stew will have you embracing stormy weather, no matter the season.

The lamb

Roasted leg of lamb is one of our very favorite things around the Monster casa. We'll buy the largest boneless leg of lamb we can find at Costco, roast half of it with rosemary, salt, and pepper, and save the other half for another purpose.

Sometimes we grind it for chili or burgers or our version of Greek gyro, but lately, we've been chopping it into bite-sized chunks and saving it for this incredible stew.

The first time we made it, the lamb leg chunks were a bit too large, making eating the delicious meat a bit of a clumsy experience. Since then, I've aimed for smaller chunks, no larger than 3/4-inch cubes.

If you want to buy pre-cut lamb stew meat, just make sure the pieces are on the small side. If using another cut of lamb, such as lamb shoulder, you may need to adjust the cooking time. Lamb shoulder tends to have more connective tissue and may need a little more time in the cooking process to reach optimal tenderness.

The veggies

This Moroccan lamb stew recipe truly is a meal in a bowl, sporting not just meat and potatoes, but plenty of veggies as well. The best part for those of us with veggie-resistant monsters in our lives is that most of the veggies are conveniently hidden!

Mirepoix pestata pucks create a great flavor foundation, and two pounds of frozen cauliflower florets disappear into the hearty, creamy, base of chicken stock and coconut milk. We like to keep mirepoix pestata pucks in the freezer at all times, but if you do not have any on hand, feel free to add 1/4-1/2 cup each of finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery. You could add finely chopped red, yellow, or orange bell pepper as well if desired.

I like to use frozen cauliflower florets rather than fresh because I feel like they dissolve better in the soup, which is what I'm going for. You could also try frozen cauliflower rice, but it is generally much more expensive per pound, and surprisingly, I feel like it doesn't break down quite as well as the florets.

​The potatoes

Ok, now if you wanted to avoid the potatoes altogether and have chunks of cauliflower to bite into instead, you could ignore all my talk about letting the cauliflower dissolve, or add extra later on in the cooking process.

You could also try to sneak in a few more nutrients and use sweet potatoes here.

I, however, love to use gold potatoes for the following reasons:

They are easy to work with (don't brown easily and don't have to be peeled); they hold their shape and get super creamy instead of mealy like a russet; and in general, potatoes are a cheap, satisfying filler when trying to stretch a meal (ahem, family of seven).

The seasoning

This delicious stew gets its Moroccan flavor profile from a spice blend called Ras el Hanout, which means "top of the shop" in Arabic and is a popular seasoning mix throughout Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East.

This blend is available in many grocery stores, but I make mine at home. My favorite recipe comes from Melissa Joulwan. We came across this recipe many years ago when prepping for our first Whole30, and since then we have used it to flavor everything from salmon to shakshuka--and, of course, this yummy Moroccan stew.

This Ras el Hanout contains a long list of spices, including cumin, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg--basically the perfect ingredients to make you feel warm in any storm!

If you enjoy the flavors of Morocco, you should definitely make a big batch of Ras el Hanout to keep on hand.

Paleo Moroccan Lamb Stew: the total package

Ultimately, this Moroccan stew is something all the monsters are excited to eat--even my cauliflower-despising daughter! She doesn't know it's in there, so please, don't tell!

I love it, too. And I love that it is a truly a whole meal in a bowl--veggies and all! I hope you and your crew will love it, too!

This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd or stock the freezer.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch (or smaller) chunks

• 2 T (plus extra to taste) kosher salt

• 2 T Ras el Hanout (moroccan spice blend)

• 2 mirepoix pucks*

• 1 T tomato paste

• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

• 10 cups (2 ½ quarts) chicken stock

• 2 lbs gold potatoes, chopped into ½ -inch chunks

• 2 lbs frozen cauliflower florets

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk

Here's what you'll do:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove top. Sear the lamb cubes in batches over medium heat, making sure not to crowd the pan, so that the pieces get browned on all sides. Salt the lamb meat lightly as you go, and transfer the browned pieces into a small bowl as they are done.

2. When all the meat is browned, add the mirepoix pucks to the pan, salt lightly, and sauté till the onions are translucent and veggies are soft, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go.

3. Add the tomato paste and Ras el Hanout to the onion mixture and cook, stirring for about a minute. Add the canned tomatoes along with their juice, and stir to incorporate.

4. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, cauliflower, and remaining salt.

5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

6. Bring the contents of the pot just to a boil, cover, transfer to the preheated oven, and cook for 2 ½ hours or till the lamb and potatoes are tender and the cauliflower dissolves when stirred or pressed with a fork.

7. Add the coconut milk, and stir to dissolve the cauliflower as much as possible. Taste for seasoning and add a touch more salt or Ras el Hanout if needed. Serve with finely chopped fresh cilantro (or fresh parsley), a dollop of coconut milk yogurt, and a drizzle of harissa if desired.

For the printable recipe click here.