ISO lamb tagine recipe!

Mimisinger

Wed, Jan 08 2014, 7:03 pm

I recently went to a restaurant and had an AMAZING lamb tagine. It was my first time having lamb at all, and it was delicious. It was sweet and had fruits in it - like prunes and apricots, maybe? I couldn't tell it was all one big mush. Any recipes out there? TIA!

Mrs Bissli

Sat, Jan 11 2014, 3:10 pm

Two most important bits:
1. you'll need a heavy ceramic casserole, the kind that retains heat very well. Tagines are traditionally
cooked in a unique-shaped ceramic dishes with elonged lid, but other heavy ceramic/stoneware would
do.

2. Ideally you'll need to cook it at least a day before serving. That way you can let the fat congeal and
skim it off first.

This should serve 8-10 people.

2 medium to large onions, chopped
2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. flour
2.5-3lb cubed lamb, visible fats removed
a pinch each of safran, nutmeg, ginger
2 teasp cinnamon
300g pitted prunes, halved or quartered
2-3 tbsp. honey
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds

Coat lamb with flour, sprinkle salt & pepper. Sautee onion in the oil with salt & pepper over low-to-medium flame till onions are soft, it should take about 10-15minutes. Remove onion to the casserole. Raise heat to medium-to-high, add meat till its' browned. Drain off extra fat if there's too much. Add all spices (except only 1 teasp of cinnamon), cook for another few minutes. Add enough water to cover the meat and cook covered over a low flame for about 1.5-2hours, till meat is tender. If necessary add water so it doesn't completely dry out. Add prunes, honey, the remaining 1teasp of cinnamon and cook for another 20-30minutes uncovered so that the gravy can thicken. Toast almonds lightly (it should still be mostly white) in either an oven or in a frying pan. Serve tagine with couscous, sprinkle almonds on the top.