Lamb braise with saffron rice

Lamb braise with saffron rice, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

You may have noticed there are a lot of stew-type recipes on beFOODled. I think that's because braising is my favourite way to cook. I just really like the flavours and textures of tomato-based one-pot dishes. Plus, braises are slow food, and I often like to cook for a bit, toddle off to do something, such as blog, then return to eat. Yes, that's it. It's a method that is forgiving of distractions.

Lamb braise with saffron rice

1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into bite-size cubes
a handful of all-purpose flour
grapeseed (or canola) oil
a handful of pearl or cipollini onions, peeled
1 - 2 garlic cloves
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
100 mL of cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar
a glug of your favourite BBQ sauce
28-oz can of plum tomatoes (I like San Marzano brand)
1/2 - 1 cup of chicken stock
fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
ground coriander
chopped parsley

Put the flour in a large plastic bag and toss the lamb cubes until lightly coated. Brown the lamb in batches in an oiled frying pan but do not cook all the way through. Set aside.

Add some more oil and fry the carrots, celery and onions for a few minutes. Add the garlic and. Turn up the heat and add the vinegar and sugar and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and add the tomatoes, the BBQ sauce, chicken stock and herbs and spices. Stir and cover and cook on very low heat (about 2 or 1) for 1 to 1.5 hours. Add a bit more stock if it needs more liquid while braising. Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled over.

To make the saffron rice, make basmati rice in your rice cooker as usual, but cook it using some water that's had a pinch of saffron soaking in it for about 30 minutes. It will come out a pretty yellow and taste fantastic.