It was my oldest daughter's first day back at school yesterday. At drop-off (after a hectic morning trying to remember all the bits and pieces she has to bring) she seemed very content as she chatted to her friends and hardly noticed me and her little sister waving goodbye. Everyday after school I try to get her to tell me a thing or to about what has happened but it is usually "I can't remember, mummy" and then she's off on her scooter to catch up with one of her friends. Good thing I know from the school bulletin what she has for lunch, at least, so I can ask leading questions like "were the fish fingers nice today" when I know that she's had pasta. That usually triggers an answer. One thing I have thought about is this lamb obsession that is going on. Once a week they get served lamb like lamb lasagna or lamb bolognese. Also, from friends in Sweden using a service where you get sent home ingredients for the week's dinners which you then cook yourself, I know that there is some sort of lamb fetish among chefs with lamb burgers being served left, right and centre. Not being a huge fan myself apart from perfectly cooked lamb racks I thought I had to give a couple of child friendly recipes a try. Here's one that might have won me and my kids over by the look of their plates last night.
Lamb with sweet spices (original recipe in Swedish can be found here http://hemmafru.taffel.se/2009/09/03/arabisk-lammfarsgryta-med-sota-kryddor
Ingredients (for 4 people)
400g lamb mince
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 carrots
1 tsp cardamom seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
1 dl of white wine
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tbsp honey
1 dl creamed coconut (or open a tin of coconut milk and use only the thick cream that usually gathers at the top of the tin)
6 apricots, chopped
1 small pomegranate
1 small bunch of fresh mint leaves
a dollop of greek yogurt to serve
Preparation
Chop the onions, garlic and slice the carrots. Heat a pan and add some olive oil and then cook the onions, garlic and slice on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate.
Add the lamb mince to the pan and cook through. Then add back the onions, garlic, carrots and chopped apricots.
Grind the cardamom seeds in a pestle and mortar then add to the pan along with the cinnamon sticks, rinsed chickpeas and white wine. Cook until the moisture has absorbed a bit.
Add the coconut cream and let it melt in the pan. Add honey, salt and pepper to taste.
400g lamb mince
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 carrots
1 tsp cardamom seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
1 dl of white wine
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tbsp honey
1 dl creamed coconut (or open a tin of coconut milk and use only the thick cream that usually gathers at the top of the tin)
6 apricots, chopped
1 small pomegranate
1 small bunch of fresh mint leaves
a dollop of greek yogurt to serve
Preparation
Chop the onions, garlic and slice the carrots. Heat a pan and add some olive oil and then cook the onions, garlic and slice on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate.
Add the lamb mince to the pan and cook through. Then add back the onions, garlic, carrots and chopped apricots.
Grind the cardamom seeds in a pestle and mortar then add to the pan along with the cinnamon sticks, rinsed chickpeas and white wine. Cook until the moisture has absorbed a bit.
Add the coconut cream and let it melt in the pan. Add honey, salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with chopped mint, pomegranate seeds and serve with rice and a dollop of greek yoghurt.
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