Mediterranean Lamb and Lentil Stew

I hate to be one of those people who changes the recipe and then reviews it, but alas, my nature can't help fiddling... when I think lamb and lentils, I think Middle Eastern, so I switched up the spices a bit, but this is a great recipe nonetheless and one I will certainly make again and again! Changes I made were: 1) used lamb loin chops instead of shoulder arm because that's all I could find 2) altered spices to about 1/4 tsp each of fresh rosemary and thyme, plus 1/2 tsp each of freshly-ground coriander and cumin, a pinch or 2 of garam masala, a pinch of powdered ginger, and lots of freshly-ground black pepper 3) cut the lemon to half, because after tasting found that was plenty (and I'm a lemon fanatic) 4) used crushed tomatoes instead of diced because I have an anti-tomato-chunk person in the family 5) added about 1/4 cup red wine and 6) cooked in a slow cooker after browning lamb and cooking onion and garlic. Don't mean to insult the creator at all, because I'm sure it's fantastic the original way, and it was fantastic with a couple alterations! Seriously yummy!

This is a rich and hearty dish. Add the rice pilaf and a crusty slab of rustic whole grain bread and you have a wonderful combination

This is an amazing recipe! The flavor is awesome! I substituted chicken thighs (seasoned with salt & pepper, then browned); added 1/2 white wine; doubled the spinach; and served over rice pilaf as suggested. Easy one pot dish.

Mmm, s'good. I let the lentils soak the night before. That worked well because they required less cooking

This was an excellent recipe! At 47, I had never cooked with lamb before and this was a wonderful first! Because of a busy day, i literally threw this together. Upon initial serving, I forgot to continue and add the spinach and lemon zest. I also could not find the ricotta salata cheese. My men RAVED over the flavor! My husband was bowled over by the richness of it. The comment by the author about including the bones when cooking the lamb was so correct and I'm glad I followed that suggestion! I told my husband that I'd forgotten a couple of ingredients and he commented that he didn't know that ANYTHING could imiprove the flavor. The next time I did serve it with spinach added and the lemon. The lemon was excellent as well. I can highly recommend this recipe. I had no time to play with ingredients as I always try to use a recipe as written first. I doubled it and (stretching it with extra chicken broth and tomatoes added later with the spinach) had enough to serve over brown rice for three dinners for four people.

Absolutely Delicious and very very easy to make! We will definitely be making this again.

This stew was AWESOME!!! My husband made it for me as a surprise because of all the veggies (I'm pregnant) and it was DELICIOUS...and it even tasted better as the days went on. We will definitely make this again.

I have made this recipe twice with lamb and last night tried a "poor man's" version, substituting chicken thighs and sage sausage in place of the lmab. All three times have been a huge hit with my boyfriend (he's the only one I cook for, so that means a lot to me :-) But we both agree the lamb, and the simmering with the shoulder bones/marrow, definitely has that something in the flavor that makes it ooohhhhhh so good! But we like both... and it just gets better in the fridge! I have already committed this one to memory... my only issue is I have such a hard time cubing up the shoulder chops, but it is worth it, and definitely a labor of love for my lamb-loving boyfriend :-) Love love love this flavorful stew!!

My husband and I both loved it. I didn't even have sage for the recipe, but it was still great. I will definitely make it again.

This was easy and nutritious. I added more chopped vegetables and served over mashed potatoes.

Fantastic! I made exactly as directed and it was delicous. I used boneless lamb roast from Costco.

Excellent!!! I was a little nervous about adding the tomatoes, spinach, and lemon; but these ingredients really do add a lot to the soup. Thanks for a great recipe!

An excellent, fairly easy to make dish. I did not have fresh Spinach or some of the dried herbs but it still came out really tasty. I have already done it twice in the past month. Will make it again for sure. Thanks.

This is a really good, I have passed it on to several friends even the ones who say they don't like lamb.

This stew is amazing. We made a double batch just to make it last longer. We served it over rice as well. Great flavor and texture.. Will be making again and again.

Delicious and easy! I made this with lamb sausage and omitted the cheese because I did not have any. Also used less lemon and zest. Tasty. Quick. Nutritious.

Great stew. Could use more spice, but that doesn't take away from how good this recipe is.

Wow, this is fantastic! Thank you for posting. I had leftover lamb roast from Easter and read many reviews here. I chopped the lamb (boneless) and added it toward the end (it softened up nicely). I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Spices - as listed, added rosemary. This is one of those great recipes that you can spice it up however you like. I'm sticking to the recipe and also rosemary. If you like lemon and fresh baby spinach (like we do) don't forget to add it near the end! Also loved crumbled feta on top in each bowl. We ate it just as it is, but tomorrow's leftovers will be over rice or potatoes or pasta, who knows. This is a keeper.

I made this dish tonight and it was delicious. Perfect for a cold winter night and a spouse with a cold. I used homemade lamb stock (it was really, really good stock that I would not waste on a mediocre dish), two carrots plus one parsnip, and otherwise followed the recipe as stated (I cooked it for longer to ensure the lentils were cooked). Thanks for sharing.

Awesome. First time cooking lamb in a stew and this was the bomb. I omitted the chicken broth and lemon altogether because there was already too much liquid. I did add one beef bouillon cube and simmered it uncovered to reduce the liquid. Also added rosemary. Great over brown rice.

Great recipe! Made it with lamb chops, so couldn’t really get rid of bones, but it didn’t ruin it at all. Came out great! Also, not a big fan of lemon, so didn’t use it. Instead, I added 4 mini Bella mushrooms, finely chopped - anyways, thanks for great recipe!

Love this recipe!! I made it without the sage and cheese, and it was still delicious! I didn't have fresh spinach, but I used frozen spinach--I just cooked it and put it in at the very end. Lamb on the bone is the best to use since it brings out so much flavor. I had to cook the stew a bit longer than what the recipe called for so that the lentils and carrots were fully cooked. I just kept my eye on it, and it was okay. We are a fan of using cilantro with any lamb dish, so I garnished the stew with fresh cilantro right before serving it. My husband nearly licked the bowl, so I know I will be making this recipe again!

I'm giving this recipe five stars even though I didn't make it as indicated. Since I only had chicken quarters on hand, I used those and de-boned them after cooking. The entire meal was sublime, well-balanced and healthy ;) I'll definitely be making this one again.

I realized too late that I was out of sage, so I used rosemary and saffron instead. So delicious!

Wow, this is fantastic! Thank you for posting. I had leftover lamb roast from Easter and read many reviews here. I chopped the lamb (boneless) and added it toward the end (it softened up nicely). I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Spices - as listed, added rosemary. This is one of those great recipes that you can spice it up however you like. I'm sticking to the recipe and also rosemary. If you like lemon and fresh baby spinach (like we do) don't forget to add it near the end! Also loved crumbled feta on top in each bowl. We ate it just as it is, but tomorrow's leftovers will be over rice or potatoes or pasta, who knows. This is a keeper.

I just made this lamb stew tonight. I've never made a lamb stew before. I used different lentils since I didn't have the brown ones; I used the red ones from my pantry. I also used a fresh tomato to dice and everything else was as per the recipe. This is a keeper. The only thing is that it has too much saturated fat so I limited the amount of meat we were served. This stew goes really well over rice. I highly recommend this recipe as is, if you want to experience the real thing.

Loved this dish. A crowd favorite. Don't skip the ricotta salata.

Amazing recipe. Taste is incredible! I used lamb neck fillet found in the reduced section and it came out so tender. Also used yellow and green split peas instead of lentils, was gorgeous! Thanks for the recipe :)

This stew was so good that I would eat two bowls per meal. I substituted ground lamb for the chops, added finely chopped red potatoes, and substituted fresh turnip greens from my garden for the spinach.

Excellent flavor but we added canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes and ONLY used Fresh Herbs- also the lamb was left over from Rotisserie and cubed- and added for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Did not use the ricotta cheese and only used a PINCH of lemon zest. (We tested a small bite with more lemon and felt it overtook the dish). Otherwise a simple dish and very hearty and filling. Would recommend serving with fresh baked pita bread and sliced cucumber. LOVED this dish!!

good but definitely needed more spices added as other reviewers noted. my husband definitely like this stew. will make again

I made this per recipe and it was very bland. Needs more spice!

Love it love it love it!!!

I used leftover lamb, and skipped the chickpeas, adding 1/4 tsp Harissa spice, as well as some frozen kale for green vegetables. Outstanding! I would make it with the chickpeas for vegetarians and with the lamb for meat eaters. I would be very easy to make it all the way to the last, then split into two pots, one with chickpeas and one with lamb for a dinner party for everyone.

Excellent lamb recipe! Love the healthy vegetables involved and the fresh taste the lemon provides. Family loved this meal. Just a note, I only used a half a lemon for juice and zest and found it to be just right. Definitely try this recipe!

Rich and filling; my rank of four is solely because the flavor was a little bland. Both my wife, and our nephew who lives with us, voiced approval, Rafael in the best way, by eating two big servings.

The stew is perfect for cold nights. I love it even more because it is great coming out the freezer. I am collecting meals you can pop in a microwave. I have binge cooking days were I cook like it's thanksgiving but only things you can separate into portions for the freezer.

Great soup/stew! My husband took some lamb off a shoulder, to make a lamb roast (stuffed with goat cheese, raisins, garlic, herbs), and I said save me the done with a title meat on it for lentil soup. So I made this soup without the pound of lamb, just the bones with a little meat attached. I also kept the stock (juices) from the roast and threw that into the soup pot. I was worried about the cheese and lemon, however, those are added at the end; so we tried it without them and with them. Those two ingredients, esp. the lemon, took it over the top. I had Meyer lemons, and by adding lemon juice to each bowl before serving the lemon really brightened the soup, and made it shine! I don’t know how else to describe it. I substituted feta for the salata ricotta, because that’s what I had on hand. Once again the cheese really did add to the flavor. I served it with crusty bread, great dipped into the soup for a few bites here and there-delicious! I diced the carrots, and liked that they were similar in size to the lentils both when eating and in appearance.

Maybe use canned lentils, took forever for lentils to soften.

Nice recipe. I did a few tweaks. I used 2 lamb shanks, seasoned with salt, pepper, dried oregano, thyme, and garlic powder. (They weighed about a pound each with the bones.) I browned them and added some port sherry and chicken broth and simmered them with fresh rosemary & thyme sprigs for about an hour. I strained the broth then sauteed the veg. I added celery because I had some and like it. I followed the recipe after that, except that I used fresh, chopped rosemary and thyme. I also used rotel tomatoes for a little heat. I have never used the ricotta salata before. I found it at Whole Foods. It was nice in this dish, but not sure what else to do with it.

add chopped potatoes to veggie list. Did not add spinach and feta cheese.

light and delicious

Loved this stew! Loved the fact that it DID NOT have cumin and coriander. Those spices are wonderful for so many stews and soups, but it was genuinely a lamb stew without them. Could taste the lamb and still enjoy the spices as the author of this recipe noted. Only change for me, was using split red lentils. Delicious and nutritious. Thanks!

Delicious! And I'm not crazy about lamb. All the ingredients blend wonderfully and make the lamb flavor more subtle.

This recipe is delicious very flavorful. The only thing I did different was use fresh sage because I had it on hand. I did taste it prior to adding the lemon and next time I would omit the lemon just my opinion. I will definitely make it again.

I tried this recipe today, it was very nice and filling but I think it could be em proved with some herbs and spices. Next time I'll try adding a little spice but that's just me