Lamb Tagine

Gah, I love Moroccan food. The spices, the flavor, the comfort. I especially love this lamb tagine.

In reality, I probably make tagine more often than I make chili: fewer ingredients are necessary to throw a quick pot of this together, and they’re usually ingredients I have on hand. Plus, whereas chili for me has a decidedly fall feel, this seems to span more of those colder weeks than that. I know that’s my own issue, but that’s just how I feel, k?

This recipe is easy and pretty foolproof way to spice up a blah weekday meal, and great way to spice up a blah week can be made with chicken if lamb ain’t your thing In fact, my weeknight go-to is a chicken version, courtesy of Rachel Ray, and, in another twist, mixes up the apricots with prunes.

Another fun fact for ya: tagine, like paella is both a dish and a cooking vessel. A tagine looks sort of like a top (you know those spinning toys from 100 years ago?), and the strange shape allows the condensation from cooking to filter back down into the dish. The low and slow process creates meat that is fall-off-the-bone tender. However, because chances are that you don’t have a tagine ( I don’t have a tagine either), I just used a dutch oven, though a run of the mill stock pot will work just as well.

Lamb tagine is typically served with couscous or rice, or, in my house, with a side of fresh flatbread. Do as you wish. This is really just a new flavor palate to try- throw in some diced butternut squash rather than meat and you have a hearty vegetarian dish. See, so versatile!

And while Morocco is on my list of places to go, so many are, and so until I can get there myself, this certainly hits the spot!

Lamb Tagine

January 20, 2013

Servings: 4

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 1 hr 30 min

Total: 2 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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Traditional Moroccan lamb tagine is cubed lamb simmered in spices and vegetables to create a delicious, hearty and flavorful stew.

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

2 TB olive oil
1 pound lamb stew meat
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp of turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 large onion, finely sliced (about 1 cup)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 TB honey
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 14-oz can garbanzo beans
10 dried apricots, roughly chopped
Mint, for garnish
Parsley, for garnish

Directions

Step 1 In a Ziploc bag, combine the lamb, 1 teaspoon of the oil, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Let marinate for a few hours. This isn’t completely necessary if you don’t have the time or forget.
Step 2 Heat the remaining oil in a stock pot, Dutch oven or tagine. Over a moderate heat, cook the onions until nice and soft.
Step 3 Add the lamb to the onions and cook for about 5 minutes until the pieces are browned on all sides.
Step 4 Add the tomatoes and honey and about half the stock and cover cooking for an hour, adding more stock if necessary or if desired
Step 5 After about an hour, add the apricots and garbanzos and the rest of the stock. Cook for another half hour to an hour
Step 6 Remove from heat and scatter over chopped fresh parsley and a bit of mint. Enjoy!