Pomegranate Lamb and Eggplant Stew 🍲🇱🇧

Description

A deep Middle Eastern style stew with tender lamb, silky eggplant, chickpeas, and a glossy pomegranate finish that tastes slow cooked and luxurious 🍲
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Rich, tangy, and warmly spiced, this is the kind of stew that makes plain rice feel like a feast ✨

Ingredients

• 🥩 800 g lamb shoulder, 3 cm cubes (1.76 lb)
• 🧂 10 g fine sea salt (1¾ tsp / 0.35 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🫒 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧅 200 g yellow onion, finely diced (1 large / 7 oz)
• 🧄 12 g garlic, minced (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🍅 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp / 1.1 oz)
• 🌿 6 g ground cumin (2 tsp / 0.21 oz)
• 🌿 4 g ground coriander (1½ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🌿 2 g ground cinnamon (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌿 1 g ground allspice (¼ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🌶️ 2 g Aleppo pepper or chili flakes, optional (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🍆 700 g eggplant, 3 cm chunks (1.54 lb)
• 🫑 200 g red bell pepper, 2 cm pieces (1 large / 7 oz)
• 🫘 480 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups / 17 oz)
• 🍅 400 g crushed tomatoes (1¾ cups / 14 oz)
• 💧 600 ml beef or chicken stock (2½ cups / 20 fl oz)
• 🍯 30 ml pomegranate molasses (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍋 15 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp / ½ fl oz)
• 🌿 15 g parsley, chopped (½ cup / 0.53 oz)
• 🌿 5 g mint, chopped, optional (2 tbsp / 0.18 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Sear for real depth
2. Use a heavy pot, 5 l (5 qt). Pat lamb dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Sear lamb in 2 batches, 3–4 min per batch, until deeply browned. Transfer to a plate.
3. 2️⃣ Build the base
4. Lower heat to medium. Add onion and cook 6 min until soft and lightly golden. Add garlic and cook 30 sec until fragrant.
5. 3️⃣ Bloom tomato paste and spices
6. Stir in tomato paste and cook 90 sec until it darkens slightly. Add cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, and optional Aleppo pepper. Stir 20 sec.
7. 4️⃣ Simmer the lamb properly
8. Add crushed tomatoes and stock, scraping the pot. Return lamb and any juices. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, reduce to low, and simmer 45 min. You want small bubbles, not a boil.
9. 5️⃣ Add vegetables in the right order
10. Stir in eggplant and bell pepper. Cover and simmer 20 min, stirring once halfway, until eggplant is very tender but still holding shape.
11. 6️⃣ Finish with chickpeas
12. Add chickpeas and simmer uncovered 10 min to thicken the stew into a glossy, spoon-coating texture.
13. 7️⃣ Finish off heat for brightness
14. Turn off heat. Stir in pomegranate molasses and lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt.
15. 8️⃣ Herbs and serve
16. Stir in parsley and optional mint. Rest 5 min, then serve hot.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 80 min
🛋️ Rest: 5 min
⏰ Total: 105 min

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