Lamb tagine recipe
I apologise to cooks of authentic Moroccan food for my attempt to capture the flavours of such a complex cuisine – especially since I also recommend that the recipe can be made in a cast-iron casserole dish. But if you do have a tagine at the back of the cupboard, perhaps this will encourage you to dust it off.
Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes soaking and marinating | Cooking time: 2 hours
SERVES
Four
INGREDIENTS
12 dried apricots
600g lamb neck fillet
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp harissa paste
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large courgette, finely diced
250g couscous
A drizzle of olive oil
A squeeze of lemon or lime (optional)
Scattering of chopped coriander or parsley (optional)
Juice of 1 tangerine
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped coriander
250g natural yogurt, mixed with chopped mint or a spoonful of harissa, to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 3.
Pour enough boiling water over the apricots just to cover, and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
Chop the neck fillet widthways to make 2.5cm-thick medallions.
Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl and add the lamb, turning the pieces over to coat. Add the ginger, cumin seeds, harissa paste and cinnamon and coat the meat evenly with the mixture. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Fry the lamb pieces in a large ovenproof casserole until evenly browned, and remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
In the juices left in the pan, fry the onion until soft, then add the garlic and courgette. Fry for three minutes, then add salt to taste.
Set the browned lamb medallions on top of the vegetables.
Cut the apricots in half then add them to the pan along with their soaking water. Add enough water to just cover the lamb and cook with the lid on for about 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the cous cous. Place the cous cous in large bowl, and pour over 500ml of boiling water. Salt to taste and leave for 30 minutes. Leave it to cool, then rub the couscous to break it down and dress with olive oil, salt, lemon or lime and herbs to taste (I use coriander but parsley is also good).
Check that the lamb is tender and falling apart – if it isn’t, return to the oven for a bit longer. Remove the tagine from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Take off the lid and add the juice of a tangerine and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Sprinkle over the fresh chopped mint and coriander and check the seasoning.
Serve with a small bowl of yogurt – you can add chopped mint to the yogurt if you find the tagine hot, or stir in a spoonful of harissa if you’d like it hotter!
