- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 servings
Paula Wolfert learned a chicken dish called chaariya medfouna from a private cook named Karima, left. "Chaariya means noodles," Wolfert says. "Medfoun means a surprise or something hidden." In Paula's adaptation, the steamed noodles cover tender chunks of lamb spiced with cumin.
Ingredient:
- Lamb
- Large pinch of saffron threads
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder (cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 3 large red onions (sliced 1/2 inch thick)
- 2-inch cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- Kosher salt
- 12 sprigs cilantro (tied in a bundle)
- Noodles
- 1 ½ pounds vermicelli (or angel-hair pasta, broken into 3-inch lengths)
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for greasing)
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ⅔ cup blanched whole almonds
- ½ cup cold salted water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- Salt
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
