One-Pot Morrocan Lamb Tagine
Cooler temperatures call for a one-pot Moroccan Lamb Tagine for an easy and hearty family recipe.
The weather is seriously turning with the temperatures dropping quickly to single digits centigrade. Fall is in full force and it’s the perfect time to get cozy with a hearty slow-cooked stew.
The rainy weather has kept us indoors for the afternoon. Whilst my daughter played independently with her toys in the lounge, I thought I would dust off my beloved cast iron Le Creuset and make an aromatic Moroccan lamb tagine. For this recipe, I also added some chickpeas to make it extra hearty.
Flavours of North Africa
Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish of meat and vegetable braised in a conical earthenware vessel with a wide shallow bottom of the same name. If you don’t have a tagine cookware, it’s perfectly fine to use a cast iron Dutch oven. The aromatic flavours come from a generous mix of spices known in the culinary world as ras el hanout meaning “top shelf” in Arabic. The signature blend of Moroccan flavours include a medley of vibrant and earthy spices. I didn’t have ras el hanout on hand, but it’s very easy to make with some basic pantry spices.
This Epicurious recipe for ras el hanout has mix of eight spices plus salt:
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
Sweetness is the other flavour in this classic Moroccan lamb tagine which primarily comes from a combination of dried fruit and honey. For this dish, I used dried apricots and raisins, which I always have on hand with a young toddler plus a spoonful of runny honey. The key is to balance the aromatic earthy spices with the sweetness from the fruit. The other trick is to draw out the sweetness from caramelising the onion before adding some crushed garlic for extra savoury flavour.
To garnish, add some chopped coriander for a pop of colour and toasted sliced almonds. Serve with a bed of fluffy couscous or warm flatbread for a hearty supper for the family. If you want, add some classic mezzes such as hummus and baba ganoush as an appetizer to dip with your flatbread.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Ingredients
Ras El Hanout
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
Lamb Tagine
- 1.1 kg/2½lb cubed lamb shoulder 5cm/2in chunks
- 2 large onions finely chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 570 ml/1 pint tomato juice
- 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 115 g/4oz dried apricots cut in half
- 100 g/3.5oz raisins
- 85 g/3oz flaked almonds
- 1 tsp saffron soaked in cold water
- 1 can of chickpea rinsed
- 600 ml/1 pint lamb stock
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp coriander roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Make the ras el hanout by blending all the spices in a small bowl. Place the lamb chunks into a large bowl and toss together with half of the ras el hanout. Cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 150C / 300F.
- In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides. Remove from the dutch oven and place on a plate.
- Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in the same dutch oven. Add the finely chopped onion and the remaining ras el hanout and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft and about to caramelize. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, raisins, flaked almonds, saffron, chickpeas, lamb stock, honey, and lamb chunks to the Dutch oven. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.
- Place the lamb in a large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve with a fluffy bed of couscous and warm flatbread.
Notes
