lamb and millet tagine with cinnamon and prunes {gluten-free}

I have a hearty gluten-free stew recipe today with tons of sweet and savory flavor. It is Lamb and Millet Tagine with cinnamon and prunes topped with parsley and lemon. No special cookware required and you have the chance to win $500!

Did you know September is National Square Dancing Month? I kid you not. It is also Little League Month and National Courtesy Month. What is that and who the heck knew? Not me, that’s for sure. If I were a better blogger, I would be all over those special months and national days that are officially commemorating some sort of food. There are a lot of them. September is also Better Breakfast Month and (I am not kidding here folks) National Blueberry Popsicle Month. What the huh?

So I am guessing there is also a dried cranberry day, pretzel appreciation week or national toaster waffle month or whatever. If I were to pay attention to these things, oh man, I’d cash in on the hype and all that to push out my posts.  Shiz would get viral dude! Or something like that…

Probably not. And good thing, since I am terrible at keeping track of this stuff. I never know until someone/another food blogger is talking about this national day or that national month, and I am way too late to catch up. Even when I did know about salad month, which I actually was excited about, I was link five days late to the party. I suck.

But this month is a little different. This month, September, is National Whole Grains Month. And I have known that for months, and I have actually even prepared a recipe for the occasion. I am actually ALL OVER IT!

Back in the summertime, I was approached by the whole grains council about a special post for National Whole Grains Month. They wanted to let me know about a healthy recipe contest they are having during the month of September. The idea is to bring awareness to cooking with all different whole grains, and to encourage cooks to Make The Switch to whole grains in their recipes. I think this is a great idea so I marked my calendar. How could I not participate in a cause like that? I came up with this Lamb Tagine with Millet in it for the contest.

Here’s where you come in, readers can log into the whole grains council site and vote for their favorite recipe. I hope you’ll vote for mine, hint hint… Voting makes you eligible to win yourself $500 and loads of whole-grain booty.

Anyway, I used millet in this lamb stew. Or tagine if you will. Millet is sort of new to me. I used it last winter in this granola recipe, and kind of fell in love with it. It is a whole grain, but it is also gluten-free, so it is easy to digest. I love using it to thicken-up this stew instead of flour or cornstarch because it adds heart-healthy fiber and amazing texture.

I also used prunes and orange in the tagine. They give the stew a natural sweetness that I love with the savory lamb and spices. Then I topped it off with lemon zest and parsley for a bright pop. It is perfect for the cooler temps we’ve been having here in Vermont these last few weeks. And best of all it truly is the perfect meal to get you all pumped up for National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

lamb and millet tagine with cinnamon and prunes {gluten-free}

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 5 hours
• Yield: 6 cups 1x

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Description

No special cooking vessel required for this tagine recipe. Here lamb and gluten-free millet combine with prunes and cinnamon for a sweet and savory stew for national whole grain month.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil or organic canola oil, divided
• 1 pound trimmed boneless lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
• 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus one cinnamon stick
• ½ teaspoon dry thyme
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 orange, 2 long strips of peel removed with vegetable peeler, and juiced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• ½ cup pitted prunes, 3 ounces
• ½ cup millet
• ½ cup chopped curly parsley
• lemon wedges and/or zest for garnish

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Instructions

1. Arrange oven rack so a medium Dutch oven can fit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Heat one tablespoon oil in a medium 3-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Add lamb, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, undisturbed until browned on the bottom, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn lamb over, and continue turning occasionally, until the lamb is no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour lamb and any juices from the pot into a deep plate and set aside.
3. Reduce heat under the pot to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring often until the onion, starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin, thyme, ground cinnamon, allspice, 2 strips of orange peel and cook stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Pour in the orange juice, and stir scraping up browned bits from the pot. Simmer until the juice is almost completely evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, prunes, millet, the lamb and juices and the cinnamon stick, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover and transfer the pot to the oven.
4. Cook tagine until the lamb is tender and almost falling apart, about 3 ½ hours. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Remove cinnamon stick and orange peel before serving in deep plates. Garnish with parsley, lemon wedges and or zest.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups each
• Calories: 484
• Sugar: 15 g
• Sodium: 572 mg
• Fat: 23 g
• Saturated Fat: 8 g
• Carbohydrates: 34 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 39 g