The Hunger Games Lamb and Plum Stew - UPDATED!

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Mockingbird by Rob Thomas.



Okay, recap. I love food. I love recipes that magically turn into food. I like to invent recipes, (particularly from novels I love) that magically turn into food from their world that I can eat. And I'm rather good at it, too.

My very first recipe I ever invented on this blog was for THE HUNGER GAMES. I cannot tell you how I agonized over which recipe I would choose (there is so much food in there! I almost ended up rereading the first two books just looking for more), but in the end I decided on what Katniss declared was her favorite meal at the Capitol - lamb and plum stew.

And just so we don't freak anyone out, we're just getting this out of the way now: prunes are the plum equivalent of raisins and grapes. So fear not. They are yummy, I promise.

I debuted it on my first video log, but recently I decided this one needed a revisit to refine and hone this baby. The first was good, but it wasn't quite THERE. I can't say I've completely mastered this yet, but this is much much closer. So presented for you now is new and improved recipe for The Hunger Games Lamb and Plum Stew / Capitol Lamb and Plum Stew / Katniss's Lamb and Plum Stew!



The Hunger Games Lamb and Plum Stew


1 lb. Lamb meat
1 large Onion
10-13 pitted Prunes
1-2 C. Water
4 large Carrots
5 medium Potatoes
3 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
2 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 good pinch Rosemary (about 1 tsp.)
3 stalks of Celery
1 Bell Pepper (any color)
Salt and Pepper to taste



Gravy

Grape Juice to taste--for flavor (less than 1/4 C. I would think)
Juice Drippings from the crock pot
Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water, if needed



Rice/Wild Rice**







1. Cut up lamb into very small, bite-sized pieces. Roughly chop 1/3 of the onion. Add the lamb, onion and plums into a crock pot set on low (250-275 degrees if your crock pot has a temperature gauge). Add the water. Cover and let set for four hours.

2. Four-five hours before you plan on eating, cut up the carrots and potatoes and add them to the crock pot. Stir. Add the Red Wine Vinegar and Brown Sugar. Aim for lumps of meat for the Brown Sugar, and pour the vinegar over everything. Add the Rosemary.

3. About 1.5-2 hours before you plan on eating, cut up the celery stalks, bell pepper, and the rest of the onion. Add them to the mix. Add more water if it is needed.

4. 20-30 minutes before you're ready to eat, cook some rice (about 2 C. rice is what I think you will need. I used brown rice, but you may use whatever you wish. The book calls for wild rice, but that's, you know, expensive.) Once the vegetables are soft to your desired texture, make the gravy.

5. Gravy. Suck up all of the juices from the stew (yummy) and place in pot on the stove. Add flour in small amounts, by the teaspoon, and whisk like crazy over low heat (if you know how to make a slurry, you're even better off). Try to make it smooth and keep it from clumping. Depending on how much stew juices you have, you may have to add water to help supplement it, or to thin it out if the gravy has become too thick. Add salt and pepper. Add the grape juice in small increments. Taste and tweak until it is the desirable mixture of sweet and savory.


6. Leave the gravy in a separate pot (or add it back in now to the stew if you wish). Scoop meat and vegetables on top of a plates of rice. Pour gravy over the top. Viola. Feast and enjoy. :)





**You can also pour it over a bed of "wild rice" if you so desire (that part is in the book if you want to be really authentic). This is a 2-to-1 step. Double the portion of water for whatever measurement of rice you are using and cover it. Let the water boil off until the rice is soft and viola.