Lamb Tonight: Make Armenian Stuffed Carrots
Homemade Middle Eastern food is diverse, simple, healthy and beautiful to behold on a table. Practice time-tested favorites and contemporary spins alike with culinary authorities and recipe developers Nadia Zerouali and Merijn Tol. Their latest book, Souk, brings these recipes to life with history, anecdotes and photos from their storied adventures in food. These Armenian stuffed carrots are the best use of ground lamb we've seen in recent memory.
We ate these stuffed carrots in Beirut and were completely overwhelmed. The combination of spicy cloves with sweet–sour pomegranate molasses and the sweet carrot is really delicious.
Lamb Tonight: Make Armenian Stuffed Carrots
Prep Time
30
minutes
Cook Time
45
minutes
Servings
4-6
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 very large carrots
- 10 1/2 ounces ground lamb
- 5 tablespoons short grain rice
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 cloves
- 2 teaspoons seven spice
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons tamarind paste
- 1/4 cup espresso
- Scant 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
- sprigs of parsley or coriander
Directions
- Clean the carrots and cut them into pieces about 3 inches long.
- Core each piece of carrot (we use an apple corer). Boil the carrots until they are just tender.
- Mix the meat with the rice. Peel the garlic and crush well with the cloves, then add it to the mince and rice mixture along with the seven spice, cinnamon and some salt and pepper to taste. Fill the carrot pieces with meat mixture then place the stuffed carrot upright in a pan with a lid. In a small bowl, combine the tamarind, espresso, pomegranate molasses, a spoonful of water and some salt and pepper, then add to the pan. Place over low–medium heat and cook with the lid partially off for about 25 minutes (add some extra water if it boils dry).
- Serve warm, sprinkled with some finely chopped parsley or coriander.