Lamb Soup with Dried Fruit and Turmeric

Name: Lamb Soup with Dried Fruit and Turmeric
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 kg lamb on the bone, cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 litres water (8 cups); 2 tbsp butter; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 2 tsp ground turmeric; 150 g pitted prunes (1 cup); 125 g dried apricots, chopped (1/2 cup); 125 g dried peaches, chopped (1/2 cup); 50 g brown or dark sugar (1/4 cup); 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

⏱ 2 h 10 min in total🔪 20 min prep🍳 1 h 50 min cooking🍽 6 portiesMediumMiddle Eastern

A dish of Persian inspiration: lamb cooked slowly for an hour and a half until it falls apart, with prunes, dried apricots and dried peaches that give it a deep sweetness. Spiced, comforting and unlike anything you have tried.

The sugar and the lemon go in right at the end, and they go in together. That is not a coincidence: the acid keeps the sweetness of the dried fruit in check, and only the two together give the sweet-and-sour balance this cooking is known for. Separately it tastes like compote.

The turmeric is fried in butter rather than scattered into the water — its colour and aroma are fat-soluble.

Ingredients

Measurements

🍽 6 servings

1 kg lamb on the bone, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 litres water (8 cups)
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tsp ground turmeric
150 g pitted prunes (1 cup)
125 g dried apricots, chopped (1/2 cup)
125 g dried peaches, chopped (1/2 cup)
50 g brown or dark sugar (1/4 cup)
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1
Cooking the meat: in a large soup pot, put the lamb with its bones and the water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down, cover the pot and simmer gently for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Once it is done, take the bones out and discard them.
2
The aromatic sofrito: meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and fry it for 3 or 4 minutes until it softens. Stir in the turmeric, mix well and take it off the heat. The turmeric goes here and not straight into the pot: its colour and aroma are fat-soluble, so they release into the butter and barely at all into water.
3
Combining: add the onion and turmeric mixture to the pot with the lamb. Add the prunes, the dried apricots and the dried peaches.
4
Final cooking: bring it back to the boil and, once it boils, turn the heat down and cook gently for another 30 minutes so the fruit rehydrates and the broth thickens.
5
The finish: add the brown sugar and the lemon juice together, and mix well until the sugar dissolves. They go in as a pair: the acid of the lemon holds up the sweetness of the dried fruit, and only together do they give the sweet-and-sour balance of this cooking.
6
Serving: serve the soup very hot in preheated bowls or deep plates.