This blazing heat of summer inspired me to cook a dinner made with exotic ingredients. Lamb was to be the main flavour which would be complimented with aromatic spices common to North African cuisine, that’s when safflower came into the picture.
Safflower is one of the oldest cultivated crop that has been used for its oil, cosmetics, medicine and for flavouring and dyeing food and textiles. Though similar looking to saffron, safflower is not the same spice. Often times safflower is used as an inexpensive substitute for saffron. One very important fact to mention is that the cost difference between the two is huge. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, whereas safflower is quite inexpensive.
My safflower was a gift from a friend who purchased it for me on a trip to Egypt — lucky me. It is a great spice for adding some colour to a dish as well a a tiny hint of flavour. It compliments lamb, cinnamon, cumin and ginger wonderfully. Those spices are ever present in the cuisine of North Africa, as is lamb.
To give the dish more nutrition and colour I added some fresh vegetables. Green beans, carrot and red peppers are all in season and gave the lamb a delicious taste. You could of course substitute them with your favorite seasonal vegetables. If you don’t like the taste of lamb, beef would be a great replacement. And if you don’t have access to safflower then paprika can be used in its place.
Besides the amazing aromas that will waft through your house as the dish simmers, you’ll love that it is a one pot meal that can also be made in a crockpot. Here’s how you make it.
- 1.5 tbsp good quality olive oil
- 200 gm or 7 oz boneless lamb, cubed and excess fat removed
- 200 gm or 7 oz fresh green beans, tips cut off (frozen may be used instead)
- 100 gm or 3.5 oz carrot, peeled and evenly cut
- 200 gm or 7 oz sweet red pepper, seeded and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp dried safflower*
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried and ground ginger
- 1 tsp sea salt, adjust to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper, adjust to taste
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 235 ml or 1 cup water, more if needed
- Heat the oil and once warm brown the lamb pieces. Add all of the spices and stir for a minute or two or until they begin to release their scent. Add all of the vegetables, water and sherry wine. Cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, about 40 minutes. If the lamb is still tough add more water and continue to simmer. You may add more if needed or would like more broth.
**Sherry wine can be purchase at your local store or online. Alternatively you can replace it with rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
I served our dinner with rice and some buttery, spiced naan hubby purchased the day before. Alternatively it can also be served with couscous, or with either quinoa or millet for a gluten-free dinner.
How ever you serve it, I hope you get a chance to taste this scrumptious dish soon. Have a great weekend!!
P.S
Here’s a couple more lamb recipes from my archieves.
That dish sounds absolutely wonderful! The use of safflower is really interesting.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks so much Rosa! Have a great weekend.:)
I have never tried safflower in dry form, I might have to order it online. The dish looks so tasty. Thanks for introducing me to this spice.
Interesting to read that they would use this instead of saffron. Wow.
I hope you can find it and give it a try soon, Ash. Thank you!
I have never cooked with safflower before – this looks awesome and now i am going to try to find some!
You should give it a try, Alyssa. Thanks!
What an interesting dish!
Thanks Raven!
Fabulous spices in this dish! I’ve never used safflower but I can only imagine how wonderful your lamb smells as it cooks!
It did smell incredible, thank you Laura:)
You know – I have never heard of safflower before, I thought it was a typo before I started reading :) LOVE lamb, what a great protein, and one that I don’t use enough – will definitly try this curry :)
Really, it’s used in Mexican cooking. Enjoy Alex.
What a beautiful lamb recipe — delightful flavor combinations! Thanks for the YBR notice too, as well as for hosting it!
xoxo
Thank you Roz!
Such a flavorful dish.. Love the combination of ingredients. Great pictures as always. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Shema!
I am a huge fan of lamb. When cooked right it melts in your mouth. This looks great, like always :)
Me too, it’s my favorite meat. Thanks Ann!
G’day Nancy!
Your photos and recipe look divine! TRUE!
I have now put this on my list to do! Thank you!
Cheers! Joanne
Thank you, Joanne! Enjoy the lamb.
I learned to appreciate cinnamon with lamb when I lived in the Middle East. Such a lovely combination. This recipe sounds delicious!
I can imagine so, you must have so many wonderful recipes from your time there. Thank you, Victoria!
How interesting! Way back when I did use safflower oil at times but have never ‘met’ safflower itself! The cinnamon and cumin add taste of course but would so love to see what difference the safflower would make :) !
I haven’t used the oil, would love to though. Thank you Eha!
I need one as well, so hot over here. I can hardly eat and drink all the time. But if you’re saying it’s good, I am convinced. Amazing pictures, as always.
Thank you Marta!
Photo is amazing along with the lamb! wow….
Thanks Claudia!:)
I want to try this dish so bad… I have never heard of dried safflower. I wish I could just stick a fork into the screen… YUM!
You should, Ramona. I think it would also be great with some chiles added to it. Hope you can give it a try soon. Thanks!
I love safflower! Such totally terrific stuff. Lovely recipe and photos – thanks so much.
That’s great John, thank you!:)
Fascinating! The spices sound amazing to accompany lamb… Egyptian food is something I need to start cooking more of—I love everything I’ve tried so far. Thanks for the lovely recipe, as usual.
They worked wonderfully. I need to try some Egyptian recipes, would love to learn more about the cuisine. Thank you Irina!
This is absolutely beautiful, Nancy. I love its complex flavor and I bet its aroma is deep and enticing…this is our favorite kind of meal around here!
Thank you so much, Faith!:)
Love all your spices Nancy -it’s always great to find a recipe for lamb and especially one so gorgeous!
Thanks so much, amiga!
These one pot meals are irresistible! Lamb by itself has such a wonderful flavor and I just love the other flavors that you’ve added. What a lucky girl get to such a great gift of saffron.
I love one pot meals, makes busy days much easier. Thanks MJ!
Another great roundup, Nancy. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed linking to Memorie de Angelina, which is just such a terrific source of info about Italian food (I am half Italian!)
Thank you Victoria. I’m glad you found Frank’s blog, it is one of my favorites.
i would like to ask you to make some southindian recipe let us see the photo
This dish looks mouthwatering, Nancy! I’m a huge lamb fan and I love the combination of flavors in this recipe! Amazing photos as well!
Thanks so much Bill! Its such a simple dish but really bursting with great flavours. Enjoy!:)