Baby Goat Simmered with Almonds & Saffron
Submitted by debodun
Braised baby goat with ground saffron-almond paste, pancetta, tomatoes, and potatoes. A one-pot Mediterranean stew with deep, complex flavor built from that almond-saffron base.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
30 minREADY
45 minThis is old-world Mediterranean cooking — baby goat simmered low and slow with a rich almond-saffron paste ground right into the sauce. The technique has roots in Moorish Spanish cooking, where ground nuts and saffron formed the flavor backbone of countless braised meat dishes.
The almond-saffron paste is the recipe’s defining move. Blanched almonds get browned in butter and then ground with saffron threads into a fine, fragrant powder. When that mixture stirs into the braising liquid, it thickens the sauce slightly and infuses every piece of meat with a warm, golden, nutty-floral flavor.
Brown the goat in two batches, not one. Crowding the pan steams the meat instead of browning it and you lose the crust that builds flavor in the sauce. Pancetta goes in first for its fat and salt, then comes the meat, then the aromatics — onion, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf.
Potatoes get pushed under the meat for the final 15 minutes. The sauce should be reduced and concentrated by then, just barely enough to coat the meat.
Pro Tips
- Don’t skip browning the almonds before grinding; raw almonds in the paste will taste flat
- The recipe calls for just enough water to barely cover the meat; resist the urge to add more — the sauce should concentrate as it simmers, not stay watery
- Push the potatoes fully under the meat and liquid so they cook through properly
- Taste for seasoning at the end; pancetta adds salt and the sauce intensifies as it reduces
Variations
- Lamb shoulder cut into chunks substitutes well if baby goat is unavailable
- Add a strip of orange peel to the braise for a subtle citrus note that works beautifully with saffron
Ingredients
Directions
Heat butter in a non stick skillet and sauté almonds in it until lightly browned. Transfer to bowl of food processor, add saffron, and process until finely ground. Set aside.
In the same skillet, sauté pancetta until lightly cooked and transfer to a heavy saucepan. Brown meat, in 2 batches, and add to pancetta. Sauté onion until golden, adding a little more butter if necessary. to meat and stir in garlic, tomatoes, almond-saffron mixture, thyme, and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add just enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and partly cover pan. Simmer for 1 hour, or until meat is almost done. Add potatoes, pushing them under meat, and cook for 15 minutes more, until tender (There should not be a great deal of sauce but add a little water if too dry.) Taste seasoning.
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