Plum Wine and Rosebud Petal Braised Lamb with Asparagus
Lamb braised in plum wine with rosebud petals and a variety of spices, and rounded out with tender asparagus. This is rich, savory/sweet, and will absolutely melt in your mouth. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and nightshade-free.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs avocado oil
- Salt & pepper
- 2 lbs. bone-in lamb stew meat
- 10 cloves garlic ,chopped
- 1 large shallot ,minced
- 1/3 cup plum wine
- 2 Tbs rosebud petals
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp marjoram
- ¼ tsp coriander
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 bunch asparagus
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large braising pan, Dutch oven, or other heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid.
- Season lamb on all sides with salt & pepper. Add to pan and brown on all sides (don't crowd – work in batches if your pan is on the smaller side). Remove meat with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the oil and drippings in the pan.
- Add garlic and shallots to the pan and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add plum wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up all of the browned bits. Continue cooking until wine has reduced by half (add more if it reduced too quickly while deglazing the pan).
- Return lamb to pan. Add all remaining ingredients except asparagus. Stir to combine, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 50 minutes.
- While lamb simmers, trim and discard the tough stem ends of the asparagus. Slice into 1-inch pieces. Add to pan, replace cover and simmer an additional 10 minutes or until asparagus and lamb are tender. Remove from heat and allow lamb to rest before serving.
Notes
- Plum wine is a very sweet dessert wine that is most often associated with Asian cuisine. Most supermarkets with a liquor department carry at least one variety. Look for it by the sake.
- We found our rosebud petals among the dried hispanic herbs and spices at Tony's Fresh Market in the Chicago area. Look for them at hispanic markets, or order them online. Be certain that you are buying food-grade flowers that are free of chemicals. If you can't find them, full-size rose petals should work fine (again, be sure you are buying flowers that are culinary-grade!). We haven't tested it yet, but we imagine that a Tbs or two of rosewater could be used instead.