Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Recipe by Trish Deseine from Trish's Paris Kitchen

Paris is a melting pot, with quite a bit of North African influence on food available. Moroccan lamb tagine is a really tasty and exotic meal and it’s a great dish to cook to get the children into the kitchen with you. I find that mine are quite adventurous when it comes to trying something new and something Moroccan has a sense of a daring about it. It’s exotic and spicy, but not too spicy, because the spices are nice and soft and not too far away from what they are used to.

Ingredients
  • 5-6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 shoulder of lamb, deboned, cut into chunks
  • 4 onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • Half teaspoon saffron strands
  • 20 dried stoned apricots
  • 20 dried stoned prunes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional extras
  • A couple of handfuls of almonds or sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey
  • Fresh coriander and mint
Method
  • Heat the oil in the casserole dish, add the meat and onions and brown on a brisk heat. Sprinkle on the spices and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add enough water to almost cover the meat (leaving about a quarter above water level), stir and scrape the bottom of the casserole to deglaze and bring to the boil. Cover the casserole, add a little salt and pepper, reduce the heat and simmer for at least one hour thirty minutes, and up to two hours thirty minutes, adding water as it cooks down.
  • The dish is best left alone after two hours cooking and then reheated the next day. You could also give a nod to tradition and cook the browned meat for a couple of hours in an oven preheated to 130-150c/275-300F/gas mark 1-2, stirring from time to time. About 20 minutes before serving, add the dried fruits and let them heat through. If you like, sprinkle with nuts and herbs, swirl in the honey and serve.
What Do You Think?
  • LT66
    LT66 11 months ago
    just love true cooking style and evokes beautiful memories of Paris
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