Lamb and mint sharba

Lamb and Mint Sharba from The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

1 lb lamb shoulder chops (blade or round bone), 1-1/5 inches thick, trimmed and halved*

salt and pepper

1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

1 inion chopped fine

4 plumb tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 TBSP tomato paste

1.5 tsp dried mint, crumbled**

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cround cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cumin

10 cups chicken broth

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed

1 cup orzo

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat over to 325 degrees. Pat lamb dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven*** over medium-high heat intil just smoking. Brown lamb, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Pour of all but 2 TBSP fat from pot.

2. Add onion to fat left in pot and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 min. Stir in tomatoes and cook until softened and juice has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, 1 tsp mint, turmeric, paprika, 1 tsp salt, cinnamon, cumin and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Stir in broth, scraping up any browned bits and bring to a boil. 

3. Stir in chickpeas, then nestle lamb into pot along with and accumulated juices. Cover, place pot in oven and cook unil fork slips easily in and out of lamb, about 1 hour.

4. Transfer lamb to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-sizedpieces using 2 forks. discarding excess fat and bones. Meanwhile, stir orzo into soup, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. 

5. Stil in shredded lamb and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 1/2 tsp mint and let sit until fragrant, about 1 min. Serve.

*I could find lamb, so I used steak. It was a little tough, so next try tenderizing it first before browning.

**I didn't have dried mint, so used dried cilantro instead

***I only have a cast-iron Dutch oven. I heated it in the oven while browning the meat and cooking the onions in a skillet. The makes a lot--my Dutch oven was brimming.