Moroccan Lamb & Chickpea Stew

Warm, aromatic Moroccan spices bring depth of flavor to this cozy lamb & chickpea stew. Onion, garlic, zucchini, potato, carrots and tomato round it out and a bit of chopped, dried apricot adds a hint of sweetness that perfectly counters all the rich, savory flavors. I took one taste and smiled. (Recipe adapted from The Mediterranean Dish)

“To Moroccans, food means a lot more than just something you put into your body to get you through the day. It’s a huge part of life, and it brings people together.” ~ Mourad Lahlou, author of Mourad: New Moroccan and chef/owner of Aziza in San Francisco.

This is exactly my philosophy about food. Food is more than just sustenance. It’s flavor, it’s life, it’s culture, it’s a gift from the earth to sustain our bodies and our souls. To share food is a universal sign of welcoming and intimacy that transcends all borders and races. Sit down to share a meal with someone, eat from the same pot or dish as they do, take some time to have a conversation and listen and you will instantly feel more connected to that person. Over a meal, you can let your differences fade away and instead see and feel the connections that bind all of us together.

In fact, this dish came about because of a friendship developed many, many years ago, before I ever dreamed of started a food blog. We had started TaeKwonDo mostly to help my son and it became a family thing–my kids and husband even convinced me to give it a try. One of our first instructors was Blake Rife and I’ll never forget how he said he’d be heartbroken if I didn’t test at the first testing when I felt I just wasn’t ready. I was a white belt, new to the whole experience and still feeling quite clumsy. Because of him I did test … I passed and became a yellow belt. Blake wasn’t just someone we went and exercised with, he quickly became a good friend, especially to my son. He welcomed my boy (who was, at the time, nearing his teenage years) and helped him feel at home at the dojo, and then he also invited him to play Dungeons and Dragons with a group of TKD friends … and this went on for many years. They always had a meal together during this time, mostly take-out, but he also taught my son how to make what we still call “Mr. Rife Chicken” on one of those evenings (which my son brought home to teach me). My whole family stuck with TaeKwonDo for over 6 years and all made it to black belt status. Blake was with us on much of that journey.

Blake Rife doesn’t do TaeKwonDo anymore (nor do we), but it’s an experience we will never forget and the friendships we made along the way are still near and dear to us. Blake is married now, with children, and now operates Farm Solutions where he and his family raise grass-fed lamb and beef. We’ve stayed connected via facebook and he messaged me the other day to ask if I wanted some grass-fed beef. I’d just returned from my parents’ place so I was well stocked with venison, so I declined, but we got to talking and I told him about my food blog and he told me about his farming and he decided he’d bring me some lamb if I’d do a post on my blog about it. I’m always glad to help a friend (especially if food is involved!), so of course I agreed.

So the next day, for the first time in I don’t even know how many years, we got to see Blake again. He came bearing gifts: a couple packs of lamb sticks (he thought the kids would like them), some seasoned ground lamb and a couple packages of “chislic”, but he opened one package up to show me … these chunks were pretty sizable and after I thawed them I got to see just how beautiful this grass fed meat really is! It smelled SO good while it was cooking. I did take a quick pic to show you:

On Blake’s Farm Solutions facebook page I found a picture of his 2020 lambs. Adorable!

Oh, and here’s a shot of some of his cattle out grazing. They look like well fed, happy cows:

You can find more photos of the happy cows and sheep out grazing healthy vegetation on the Farm Solutions facebook page.

Got beef? Want lamb?

If you’re located near Sioux City, IA, (or even Sioux Falls, SD), and you’re interested in getting some grass-fed lamb or beef from Blake, you can reach out to him by phone or text at (605) 595-3632 and he’d be happy to get you some good quality grass-fed beef or lamb. Tell him Ann from Sumptuous Spoonfuls sent you!

(No, he didn’t pay me to say that, but he DID give me some pretty dang good meat.)

Is grass-fed really better?

What the cattle and sheep eat makes a big difference in the nutrition profile of the meat. According to Health.com, grass-fed beef is higher in key nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamins, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which improves immunity and reduces inflammation. Grass-fed beef also has 50% more omega-3 fatty acids than standard beef and it’s less likely to contain “superbugs”—bacteria that have become resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. But it’s important to know your supplier and what the animals were actually fed.

Lamb doesn’t get as much research attention as beef, but WHFoods did an article on grass-fed lamb that lists similar benefits to grass-fed beef:

• Grass-fed lamb averages 25% more omega-3s than conventionally fed lamb, and as much as 49% more ALA (alpha-linolenic acid, the basic building block for omega-3s). That’s 50% of the omega-3s in an ounce of baked cod fish or broiled tuna, and 67% of the amount in an ounce of sesame seeds.
• Grass-fed lamb is higher in CLA, which is actually a “good kind” of trans fat.
• Overall fat content in grass-fed lamb is lower, resulting in a leaner cut of meat .
• About 40% of the fat in grass-fed lamb comes from oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat. This type of fat (for which extra-virgin olive oil is lauded) has been associated with decreased risk of heart disease.
• Grass-fed lamb is a very good source of selenium and a good source of zinc. Healthy intake of these minerals is a protective factor against oxidative stress because they are co-factors in important antioxidant enzyme systems.

Anyway, regardless of where you get your lamb, I hope it’s grass-fed and has led a happy life out grazing in big green pastures with plenty of room to roam. And I hope you enjoy this stew. I was going to make this in my crockpot, but when I went to pull out my crockpot I remembered I’d broken the ceramic insert! Ooops! So I had to make this in my Instant Pot and that worked great. I included directions for both the IP and the crockpot. You could probably make this delightful stew on the stovetop as well and just simmer until the lamb is tender.

However you make it, I think you’re going to love this richly flavored Moroccan stew.

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