This stew, if you like lamb, is delicious.  I have been experimenting with Moroccan lamb stews using different combination of ingredients and finally settled on this version, using Ras-el-hanout.  In checking out  Internet sites, every recipe was different, but oddly enough, the one ingredient everyone had in common was ginger.  My Ras-el-hanout recipe calls for ground ginger, but the addition of ginger root really does zip things up.

Several of the recipes called for dates or dried fruit to be added to the stew.  The sweet potatoes add the same sort of sweetness.  If cooked along with the lamb, they will be soft, so if  firmer sweet potato pieces is desired, they could be added after the meat cooks for a while.  As it is, the garbanzos add a nice crunch which contrast with the soft sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons olive oil,
2. 1 cup chopped onions
3. ¼ cup flour
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1 teaspoon pepper
6. 1 pound lamb, cubed
7. 4 garlic cloves, minced
8. 1” ginger root, minced
9. 1 tablespoon Ras-el-hanout (click for recipe on this blog)
10. ½ cup cooked garbanzos
11. 2 small sweet potatoes, cut in 1 inch cubes
12. 2 cups beef broth
13. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
14. 1/2 preserved lemon, sliced (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add chopped onion and cook to soften and slightly brown.
3. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and place in a plastic zip sack. Add cubed lamb, close,  and toss to coat.
4. Remove the onion from the skillet, add the additional 1 tablespoon olive oil, and add the cubed lamb.
5. Brown lamb.  Depending on size of skillet used, you many need to brown in batches.
6. Once the lamb is brown, add the onion, garlic, ginger root, and Ras-el-hanout. Stir to blend.
7. Add the cubed sweet potato, the garbanzos, and the beef broth.
8. Raise the temperature to high until the mixture begins to bubble. Stir and reduce heat to medium low.
9. Cook at a medium low simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally and checking on liquid evaporation. Add more liquid if needed – either more broth or water.
10. Before serving, add chopped parsley and the slices of the skin of half a preserved lemon.