One Pot Wonder

I am a big fan of one pot meals if you hadn't noticed already. If I only need to use a chopping board, knife, pot and a spatula for the recipe, I'm in. Why? Two simple words. I'm lazy... Is that three?

You don't have to do a lot of dishes in the end and clean up is easy. Plus, one pot meals are great if you need to prepare something in advance. The longer everything sits together, the tastier it gets. It's great for pot lucks and entertaining without the fuss. With most one pot meals, I can just put the ingredients directly into the pot right as I chop them. So, I always set up my prep area next to the pot. No additional plates needed.

I've made this dish a couple times for a few friends and it was a big hit. Although we don't get unbearable cold weathers here in Southern California, it gets a little chilly at night from time to time. I love making lamb stew with couscous during cold, "winter" nights like these.

 You have your fruits, vegetables, beans and meat. All in a pot!

 Yo yo yo, just chop and drop. Uh-huh...

This is what it looks like when you get everything but the kitchen sink in there.

Lamb Stew courtesy of yours truly, serves 4:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb of lamb stew meat
1/2 lb merguez lamb sausage *
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup dried plums
1 cup dried apricots
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp orange zest

* I got the merguez lamb sausage from Whole Foods Market. The lamb sausage is essential in this dish because it contains harissa, a type of hot chili paste. If you can't find lamb merguez sausage but is able to find harissa, use about 1 tbsp of that paste and increase the amount of lamb stew meat.

Directions: Heat olive oil and sear both lamb stew meat and merguez sausage. Add the chopped garlic and onion to the mixture to sauté. Stir in the peeled tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to medium. Add the rinsed garbanzo beans and diced dried apricot and plums. The dried fruits will add sweetness to the dish. Stir in the cinnamon, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper. Let the mixture stew for about 30 minutes over medium to low heat. Before serving, add the orange zest. The zest brings some freshness and acidity to the hearty dish, but do this right before serving. I served my lamb stew with some couscous. You can definitely eat it with pita or some crusty bread.

I add mint, parsley and toasted pine nuts to store bought couscous. A little something something to just plain carbs. I say if you're going to eat carbs, make sure it actually tastes good. Or else you'll be sacrificing calories for nothing.

Final product. You can plate the stew next to the couscous for a simple look or just smother the couscous with lamb stew (pic above). I don't judge. :)