CALDERETA—A TRADITIONAL LAMB STEW

 

Lamb stew with potatoes and herbs.

    I´ve been craving lamb stew, the sort of aromatic, slow-cooked meal that’s perfect for cold weather. 

    

    Shoulder meat would be ideal for stew, but I can never bring myself to cut up a gorgeous shoulder or leg of lamb for stew meat. So I boned out several lamb shanks, using the bones to make broth and cutting the meat into chunks. Other possibilities for stew are necks, lamb riblets, flank or breast meat. 

     Caldereta is a very traditional lamb stew, found all along the shepherds’ migratory routes from Aragon and Navarra to La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia. A caldereta is a “cauldron” or iron pot for cooking on a woodfire. In its rustic, shepherds’ versions, the stew, eaten with bread, is chunks of meat, lamb or young goat, braised with wine and wild herbs with the possible addition of wild mushrooms or wild artichokes. Domesticated, the stew usually has onions and peppers as well and is served with potatoes as well as bread.  

Typically, the stew is thickened with pieces of fried lamb’s liver, mashed to a paste with garlic. If you can’t get lamb’s liver, substitute chicken livers. Or thicken the sauce with a slice of bread, fried in oil and processed to a paste.     

Stew is brown. Maybe that’s what inspired me to scatter a handful of ruby-red pomegranate kernels on the finished dish. And, once that was part of the plan, why not add a spoonful of tangy-sweet pomegranate molasses to the stew? No, this is not authentically Spanish. Pomegranates are used in Spanish cooking, but the thick, dark syrup is a Middle Eastern product. 

Pomegranate adds a pop of color to lamb stew with a side of fried potatoes.

Lamb simmers with wine and aromatic herbs until very tender. The sauce is thickened with a paste made of lamb's liver blended with garlic and spices.  

Lamb Stew

Caldereta de Cordero

Fried liver (top) to thicken the stew.

Serves 4-6.

2 pounds boneless lamb

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup olive oil plus additional for frying potatoes

4 ounces lamb’s liver or a slice of bread, crusts removed

4 cloves garlic

1 ½ cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped red and/or green pepper

1 ½ teaspoons smoked pimentón (paprika)

½ cup grated tomato pulp

¾ cup white wine

3 cups lamb broth or water plus additional for the blender 

2 bay leaves

Sprigs of thyme

Sprigs of rosemary

Peppercorns

2 cloves

2-3 potatoes

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional)

Chopped parsley

Pomegranate kernels to garnish (optional)

Cut the lamb into 2-inch chunks, discarding excess fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or stew pan such as a Dutch oven. Cut the liver into 1-inch pieces and fry it on moderate heat until browned. (If using bread instead of liver, fry the bread until crisped.) Remove the liver from the pan and put it in a blender..

Lightly crush the garlic, but do not peel the cloves. Add them to the oil with the lamb. Fry the meat on moderately high heat until nicely browned. Skim out the meat and garlic cloves. Peel the garlics and put them in the blender with the liver. Reserve the lamb.

Fresh herbs flavor the stew.

Add the onions and red/green peppers to the pan. Reduce the heat and sauté gently until onions are quite soft, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the pimentón and fry 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato pulp. Cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add the wine. Raise the heat and cook off the alcohol, 2 minutes. Return the pieces of lamb and any juices to the pan. Add enough lamb broth to almost cover the meat. Add the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Season with salt to taste. Cover and cook the stew 15 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Continue cooking the lamb until tender, about 25 minutes longer.

While the stew is cooking, crush the peppercorns and cloves in a mortar. Add the crushed spices to the blender with the liver and garlic. Add enough additional stock or water to allow the blender to function, about ¼ cup. Blend to make a smooth paste.

Potatoes fried in olive oil.

Liver blended to thicken sauce.

    Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Heat oil in a skillet and fry the potatoes until they are browned and just cooked through. Drain the potatoes on absorbent paper. The potatoes can be finished right in the stew or served as a side.

Pomegranate molasses.

   When the lamb is tender, stir the blender mixture into the stew. Stir in the pomegranate molasses, if using. If desired, add the fried potatoes to the stew or serve them as a side. Cook the stew, uncovered, 10 minutes more until the sauce is thickened. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley.

Serve the stew with the fried potatoes, garnished, if desired, with pomegranate kernels.

More recipes for lamb stews and braises:

Lamb Stew with Red Peppers (Caldereta).

Lamb Stew with Peppers (Chilindrón).

Lamb Shanks with Prunes.

Lamb and Bean Stew.

Lamb Riblets with Garlic Sauce.