Lamb Stew with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans

There's a nasty cold/flu that's going around. It flattened me for the weekend. It flattened the Brain for most of last week. That's one of the things about being married. We usually make each other sick. HAHAHAHAHA! (sorry, I couldn't resist.) But really, it happens with roommates or brothers and sisters. It's the nature of the beast. The nice thing is we have someone to take care of us once they've passed the bug on. For example, the Brain was right there with the Sprite and the cold medicine. He turned up the heat and gave me extra blankets. He was very nice.

When the Brain was sick, I made him this Lamb Stew. It's nice and hearty and full of healthy vegetables. The lamb gets so tender in the tomatoes that it almost falls apart. I suppose if you didn't buy an entire lamb at a county fair or lamb is hard to find, you could probably substitute some pork or beef, but I think the lamb adds a nice quality. This is a nice stick to your ribs kind of stew and it's really pretty easy to throw together.

Lamb Stew with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans

inspired by Bon Appetit

1 pound lamb stew meat

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup tomato sauce (one small can)

1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach thawed and drained

Sprinkle lamb with salt, and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add lamb and saute until brown, about 10 minutes. Add onion and carrots and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add garbanzo beans, broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer gently until lamb is tender, about 1 hour.

Add spinach to stew. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until spinach is warmed through.