Lamb tagine
This North African lamb stew is on the sweet and savoury side. While the dates will melt into the sauce during the cooking process, the apricots are only added towards the end so that they can stay visible and add a little bit of tanginess to the dish. Warmth is added through spices like ginger, cinnamon and turmeric. After the slow cooking, all the different flavours melt together into one pot of pure pleasure.
Equipment
- Tagine or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 kg deboned leg of lamb, cubed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 30 ml tomato paste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 6-8 dried dates, pitted, torn
- 250 g dried apricots
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- 100 g sliced almonds, toasted
- 100 g fresh pomegranate seeds, if not available dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 CHeat the oil in a tagine (or Dutch oven) and fry the onions until they are slightly browned, then take them out and set them aside.Brown the lamb all over in the same pot.Add the onions back to the pot together with the tomato paste, stock, cinnamon stick, ground ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, dates, salt and pepper.Cover the stew with a lid and bake it in the oven for 2 hours.Check that there is enough liquid in the pot during the cooking process, otherwise add more water.After 2 hours add the dried apricots and bake the stew for another 1/2 hour. The meat should melt in your mouth.Check the seasoning again and scatter the cilantro, toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds all over.Serve the stew with couscous on the side.