Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb Tagine served with Couscous
- Recipe Difficulty: Medium
- Prep Time: 45 min
With Autumn almost upon us, and the weather feeling more suited to some great slow home cooking, we thought we would share with you one of our favourite ways to use our diced lamb.
Prepare to be transported to the heart of Morocco with this rich and aromatic lamb tagine, slow-cooked to perfection and served with fluffy couscous. Infused with warming spices like cumin, cinnamon, and turmeric this dish creates layers of deep, savoury flavours complemented by tender, melt-in-your-mouth lamb.This tagine is cooked low and slow to really develop the flavour of the lamb, and the spices.
Served with the simple plain fluffy couscous and topped with fresh coriander, this recipe really is a taste sensation.
(Please note – we halved the recipe in these pictures as we were only feeding 2 of us this time)
We have chosen to serve the pork with homemade egg fried rice, but you can also easily serve it with salt & pepper chips (for an extra treat), sesame noodles or some simple (and slightly healthier) boiled rice!
Lamb: Diced Lamb
Tagine:
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 2.5 tbsp vegetable / rapeseed oil
- 2.5 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1.5 brown onions , diced
- 1.5 tbsp tomato puree
- 1.5 tsp grated ginger
- 1.5 cinnamon sticks
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 250g dried apricots , whole
- 2 tsp lemon zest
Ras el hanout spice mix:
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- 1.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (can reduce if you prefer less spicy)
- 0.2 tsp ground cloves
- 0.2 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp salt
For serving:
- Coriander leaves roughly chopped (to taste)
- 180g couscous (plain)
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
STEP 1 – Make the spice mix
Combine all the spices for the ras el hanout spice mix in a small bowl and set aside.
STEP 2 – Brown Lamb
Toss the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof casserole dish (with a lid) over high heat. Brown the lamb in 3-4 batches, turning to colour the pieces all over for about 3 minutes. Remove into a bowl, then repeat with remaining lamb. Set aside.
STEP 3 -The Aromatics
Turn the heat down to medium high. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add the tomato puree, ginger, cinnamon and spice mix. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock and water, stir, then return the lamb into the casserole dish.
STEP 4 -The Slow Cooking Process
Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid then cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Add the apricots, put the lid back on and cook for another 1 hour, checking halfway to ensure the sauce hasn’t reduced all the way (if you’re concerned, add 1/2 cup of extra water).
Now the lamb should be tender, gently stir in the lemon zest.
STEP 5 – Serving
Serve over plain couscous, sprinkled with the fresh coriander.
Enjoy!
