Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew with Farro, Parsley, & Harissa
We had a dinner party recently, with a few friends. I’m so happy we’ve entered the dinner party stage of our lives. What a lovely thing, to sit with friends around a table full of home-cooked food, to drink good wine and talk for hours. I served this Tunisian lamb stew, and I loved it so much that I made it again a week later to share here.
The second time making this lamb stew, when I wasn’t also trying to make a Streusel Cake and a fancy Kale Caesar Salad and put out appetizers, this was actually relatively easy to make. I skipped a few minor steps and consolidated the number of pots and pans used to reduce clean-up, but generally stayed pretty true to the recipe, and it was very manageable for a slow Sunday afternoon. It’s spicy and intense and exactly the sort of homey but slightly exotic dish I want to be putting on the table these days.
- 3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 TBS caraway seeds
- 1 TBS ground coriander
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smahed
- 3 chiles de arbol, cut into small pieces (easiest with scissors)
- 2 tsp parika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 6 TBS olive oil, divided
- 2 small onions, peeled and finely diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- fresh juice from 1 lemon
- 4 cups beef or chicken stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 large Italian eggplant
- Farro with parsley and butter
- harissa paste, homemade or store bought, for serving
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, minced
- Sea salt and pepper