Lamb Tagine

 

Let yourself be transported to the exotic land of Morocco! Impress your family tonight with this flavorful and easy Moroccan lamb stew. Replace the lamb with chicken or beef for an easy flavorful alternative.

What is a tagine? Tagine or Tajine is a word reserved for a tasty Moroccan stew and the pot in which the stew is cooked. Read more about it.

 

Our recipe calls for Tunisian Harissa which is optional. However, because our blend is a medium heat (5-6 on the Scoville scale), adding a few tablespoons will not overpower the stew but add additional dimension to the broth. I recommend you add the harissa in powder form instead of making a paste first as the powder will help thicken the broth.

if you are using a tagine pot, you do not need to brown the lamb prior to cooking. However, I recommend you brown the lamb if you will be using a slow cooker or a Dutch oven.

Flavours are intensified if this recipe is made ahead of time and reheated before serving.

 

Ingredients:

3 lbs lamb, leg or other, cut into 1½" - 2" cubes
3 TBSP + 1 tsp. Sultans' Delight spice blend
3 TBSP olive oil
3 XL carrots, cut into 2" pieces and split in half
2 medium onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 ¼ TBSP honey
Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cup beef broth
16 prunes, pitted
16 dried apricots
2 TBSP Tunisian Harissa powder (optional)
1 tsp. corn starch (optional)
2 TBSP almonds, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped

 

Directions:

In a Ziploc type bag, mix the lamb cubes and 3 TBSP Sultans' Delight. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Brown the lamb cubes. Make sure not to crowd the skillet. Remove and place lamb cubes in the slow cooker. Deglaze the skillet with the beef broth. Add the broth to the slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, tomato paste, carrots, honey, salt and the zest of the lemon. Mix lightly.

Cover and cook on high heat for 1½ hrs. Reduce to low heat, add cook another 2 hrs. Mix 2 TBSP Tunisian Harissa with stew broth in a separate bowl then add harissa paste to the stew. Add the apricots and the prunes. Mix lightly, cover and cook another 1½ hrs until the lamb is tender and breaks apart easily. If the broth is still thin, thicken with 1 tsp. corn starch by mixing corn starch in a separate bowl with broth then adding the corn starch mix to the broth. Cook for another 15 minutes to allow the corn starch to thicken the stew. For concentrated flavor, add 1 tsp. Sultans' Delight. Adjust additional seasoning to taste.

Serve over raisin couscous and top with cilantro and chopped almonds.

Serves 6.