KATNISS'S FAVORITE LAMB STEW WITH DRIED PLUMS

The Hunger Games movie finally arrived in theaters this past weekend. Hooray!!! So in honor of this momentous occasion, I decided to cook Katniss's favorite dish from the Capitol. Lamb Stew with Dried Plums. In Chapter 9 of The Hunger Games, when Caesar Flickerman asks Katniss in her interview, "What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" Katniss honestly answers, "The lamb stew." So there you go. I found this recipe in The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook. You should definitely check out this cookbook. It is truly amazing. Thank you Emily Baines. There are more than 150 recipes inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy. I am so excited just thinking about it. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is my favorite book ever. Here's what the cookbook looks like. So cool, right? I know!

Katniss's Favorite Lamb Stew with Dried Plums

All You Need Is (LOVE):

• 5 lbs of lamb fillet, shoulder or leg, cut into 2" pieces
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 3 cups diced carrots
• 1 cups diced zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups diced celery
• 2 large onions, diced
• 3 potatoes, cubed
• 5 cups dried plums
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cups ginger ale

What to Do:

1. Place lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan and brown the meat, working in batches if you have to.
3. Remove lamb to a side plate. Pour off fat, leaving 1/4 cup in the pan.  Add the garlic and onion and sauté until the onion becomes golden. Deglaze frying pan with the 1/2 cup water, taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan to stir up all of the tasty bits of meat and onion.  Cook to reduce liquid slightly, then remove from heat.
4. Place the lamb and garlic-onion mixture in a large stockpot. Add beef stock and sugars, stirring until sugars are dissolved.  Bring mixture to a boil, cover, reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Add the vegetables, dried plums, herbs, and ginger ale to the pot. Simmer for 30-45 minuted, or until meat and vegetables pierce easily with a fork.

Before I Go:

The recipe in the cookbook calls for 5 pounds of lamb and yields 8-10 servings. Due to the fact that I was cooking for three kids and two nannies, I just used one pound of lamb. Therefore, I only made a quarter of the recipe I just showed you. But I halved the amount of beef stock instead of quartering it so that it would be more stew-ish. I also did not add in any herbs. This stew is very rich. The plums give it great taste, but also make it very sweet. Serving with rice helps decrease the impact of this rich Capitol stew. I also made one other thing from the cookbook to go along with it. Shown in the picture above are Katniss-Approved Puffy Buttermilk Biscuits. They are extremely delicious as well.

Curious as to what the inside of this cookbook looks like? Take a peek at this stew recipe by clicking on the images below. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know in the comments below if you try this recipe and how it turns out for you. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it looks. It's actually fairly easy if you follow the steps. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. Oh, and have you read The Hunger Games Trilogy? Do you absolutely love it? I sure do! I got Phylicia hooked on the books as well. If you have not read them, read them now. Before you make the stew. Get hooked too! Haha. Thank you for stopping by!

Have a great day!

♥ K i K O ♥