Cauliflower Stew with Lamb

Sharing is caring!

Cauliflower stew with lamb is a cozy Middle Eastern dish where the cauliflower is the star. The florets brown in olive oil until sweet and nutty, then simmer with tender lamb, garlic, cilantro and lemon into a bright, comforting stew that’s even better the next day.

Families across the Levant make a simple cauliflower stew with meat. In Lebanon it’s yakhnet arnabeet, and Palestinian cooks call it yakhni zahra. It’s homey food, the kind of pot that simmers on the back of the stove until it’s time to ladle it over rice.

There’s lamb in the pot, but the meat works more like a seasoning. It gives the broth body and richness, and the browned cauliflower gives the stew its flavor.

I adapted my recipe from Real Stew by Clifford A. Wright, who based his version on the one cooked in Damascus.

It belongs to a big family of simple Middle Eastern stews. A meatless Lebanese butternut squash stew is another, and so is Persian lamb and rhubarb stew with its tart, bright broth.

Lebanese lamb stew with eggplant makes a good next pot if you like this one.

What Is Yakhnet Arnabeet?

Yakhni comes from an old Persian and Turkish word for stew, and arnabeet means cauliflower. Levantine cooks make these simple stews with peas, okra, green beans and plenty of other vegetables. Meat simmers into a broth, one main vegetable goes in, and many versions add tomato.

The cauliflower version gets its character from crushed garlic and fresh coriander tossed into hot fat, a finish Lebanese cooks call teklayeh. It goes into lots of Levantine dishes.

Turkey has a cousin too, karnabahar musakka, which pairs cauliflower with ground meat. If you like Turkish lamb dishes, saç kavurma and Turkish lamb and apricot stew are both easy weeknight dinners.

Ingredients for Cauliflower Stew with Lamb

Any stock works here: lamb, beef, chicken or vegetable. Homemade bone broth adds the most body, but a good store-bought broth is fine.

Middle Eastern recipes call fresh cilantro coriander leaf, and it’s the same herb. You’ll need a big bunch.

• Lamb: Boneless shoulder or leg, cut into 1-inch cubes. Shoulder stays a little more tender through the long simmer. If your store doesn’t carry lamb, Crowd Cow sells grass-fed lamb by mail.
• Olive oil: For browning the lamb and the cauliflower.
• Cauliflower: One large head, trimmed into bite-size florets.
• Onion: A large one, diced.
• Ghee or butter: For frying the garlic and cilantro. Ghee doesn’t burn as easily.
• Garlic: Large cloves, pounded into a paste with the salt.
• Salt: Some goes into the garlic paste, and the rest seasons the stew at the end.
• Fresh cilantro: Leaves and tender stems, finely chopped, plus a little more to garnish.
• Stock: Lamb, beef, chicken or vegetable.
• Lemon juice: Fresh squeezed brightens the rich broth.
• Black pepper: To taste at the end.

A large head of cauliflower looks like a lot next to the lamb, but it shrinks as it browns and simmers. Keep the florets bite-size so they brown on more than one side.

If you have extra cauliflower, it makes a great curried cauliflower pickle.

How to Make Cauliflower Stew with Lamb

Most of the hands-on work is browning at the start. After that, the stew simmers on its own for about an hour.

A wide pot gives you more room to brown, and I use a large Dutch oven. The amounts are in the recipe card.

Brown the Lamb

Heat a little olive oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb cubes in batches so they sear instead of steaming, then move them to a plate.

They don’t need to cook through yet. They’ll finish in the pot while the stew simmers.

Brown the Cauliflower

Add more oil and brown the cauliflower in batches, turning the florets until they caramelize on the outside with dark golden edges.

Keep the batches small so the pot stays hot, and add oil as you go. Crowded florets steam and go soft before they ever brown.

Brown the Onion

Take out the cauliflower and add the diced onion. Cook it until it’s soft and golden, stirring up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.

Make the garlic paste while the onion cooks.

Pound the Garlic

Pound the garlic cloves with the salt in a mortar and pestle until they turn into a smooth paste. The salt helps grind the garlic down.

No mortar? Press the garlic through a garlic press, then mash it into the salt with a fork in a small bowl.

Fry the Garlic and Cilantro

Add the ghee or butter to the onion, then stir in the garlic paste and the chopped cilantro. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until it’s fragrant and the cilantro wilts.

Keep it moving so the garlic stays pale. Garlic that goes dark brown turns bitter.

Simmer the Stew

Pour in the stock and scrape the bottom of the pot over high heat. Turn it down to a simmer, then add the lamb, cauliflower and lemon juice. Cover and simmer on very low heat for about an hour, until the lamb is tender.

Season it with salt and pepper at the end, and scatter more fresh cilantro over the top.

Serving Cauliflower Stew with Lamb

Spoon the stew over plain white rice or vermicelli rice, the way Syrian and Lebanese families serve it. Warm pita is good for the broth, and a spoonful of plain yogurt on top is nice too.

Add a lemon wedge on the side for anyone who likes it brighter.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, and they’re often better than the first night. The stew also freezes for 2 to 3 months, though the cauliflower comes out softer after thawing.

For more lamb dinners, try Lebanese eggs with lamb and pine nuts, lamb dhansak, Icelandic lamb soup or Mongolian buuz dumplings. For another slow, cozy braise, Portuguese chanfana slow-cooks goat in red wine.

Cauliflower Stew with Lamb FAQs

Here are answers to a few common questions about this stew.

More Middle Eastern Recipes

Stews, eggs and lamb dishes from Turkey, Lebanon and Persia.

Lebanese Lamb Stew with Eggplant

Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew (Khoresht Rivas)

Lebanese Butternut Squash Stew (Vegan Slow Cooker)

More Lamb Recipes

More ways to cook lamb from kitchens around the world.

Mongolian Buuz (Steamed Meat Dumplings)

Icelandic Lamb Soup (Kjötsúpa)

Portuguese Chanfana (Braised Goat or Lamb)