Burcu of Almost Turkish Recipes wrote to us to share a favorite recipe for stew. It looks so delicious - we can hardly wait to try it! It's also a family recipe. She says:

Artichoke and lamb stew is a very common dish in the western Aegean part of Turkey, where Turk and Greeks lived together for years. This is a recipe that I saw my mom, aunts, and neighbors cook for years.

The original recipe requires artichoke heart, lamb, onion, and, the most important of all dill.

Yet, I find the mix of just artichoke and lamb to be very heavy, so I modified the recipe by adding carrot and green peas.

Artichoke and Lamb Stew
serves 4-6

1 pound lamb
8-10 small or 4-6 big peeled artichoke hearts, cut into 4-6 pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped in half rounds
1 pound fresh green peas or 1 can green peas
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil or 4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
juice of 1 1/2 lemon
1 tsp sugar
water
salt

Soak chopped artichoke hearts in a bowl with lemon juice until you cook them. Otherwise, they will darken.

Heat olive oil or butter in a broad pot and add lamb. Stir for a couple of minutes until it's cooked on each side. Add onion and carrot. Stir until onion is softened. Add flour and stir for another minutes. Add artichoke, green peas, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Add water to barely cover vegetables. Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low for almost an hour.

Add dill after your turn it off.

Serve with rice.

Burcu