Lamb Tagine

DifficultyMedium

Servings8

Prep time13 minutes

Cook time105 minutes

Total time

Sweet tender Lamb cooked in delicious Moroccan spices. You cant go wrong. This Tagine is super easy to make and so so delicious. Think lamb stew, but to the next level. This is a rich and caramelised Tagine, that packs a punch in flavour and richness. Using a Dutch Oven you can create the most beautiful toasty and tender lamb that will heal you heart and soul everytime. A little patience and not much prep, i hope you absolutely love this recipe!

Ingredients

Lamb

  • 1 KG Lamb Shoulder (Bone in), Trim excess fat
  • Generous Pinch Salt & Black Pepper

Tagine

  • 2 Cloves Minced Garlic
  • 1 TBS Tomato Paste
  • 1 Chopped White Onion
  • 2 Whole Cinnamon Sticks
  • 1 TSP Dried Ginger
  • 1 CUP Soft Dried Apricots
  • 2 TBS Canola/Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 TSP Salt & Pepper
  • 2 1/2 CUPS Chicken Stock
  • 1/2 CUP Water

Spices

  • 1/2 TBS Dried Corriander
  • 2 TSP Ground Cumin
  • 1/2 TSP Ground Cloves
  • 2 TSP Cardamom
  • 2 TSP Turmeric
  • 1/2 TSP Cayenne Powder
  • 1 1/2 TSP Fennel Powder
  • 1/2 TSP Smoked Paprika

SERVE WITH

  • Handful Toasted Slivered Almonds
  • Handful Chopped Corriander
  • 1/2 Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 Grated Lemon Zest

Instructions

Prepping the Lamb Shoulder

  • 1

    Pre-heat-Preheat Oven to 180c/ 300F degrees.

    Trim- Trim excess fat off of lamb shoulder and then cut into 4 parts (Large Chunks)

    Season-Season Lamb pieces all over with Salt and Pepper. Set Aside.

    Heat Oil-

    Add Oil to Dutch Oven and heat on high.

    Fry Lamb-

    Add lamb to dutch oven in small batches (2 at a time) and fry until each side of Lamb Piece is dark brown and caramelised. Remove and Set aside. (NOTE)

    Aromatics-

    Turn Dutch oven to medium heat and add Onions and Garlic. Stir and cook until onion is translucent and garlic is light golden.

    Spice-

    Now add your cinnamon sticks, tomato paste and spice mix into the Onions and Garlic. Stir and scrape all the brown bits off of bottom of dutch oven.

    Simmer-

    Transfer the lamb back into dutch oven and add the stock and water. Cook until water reaches simmer

    Bake-

    Place lid on dutch oven and transfer into preheated Oven.

    Apricots-

    Cook with lid on for 1 hour. After 1 hour is done take lid off of Dutch Oven, add dried Apricots and cook for another 45 minutes or until Lamb is tender. (NOTE)

    Serve-

    Remove from oven and sprinkle Almonds, Coriander, a squeeze of Lemon Juice and grated Zest on top. I like to have this with a simple plain Cous Cous or white steamed rice.

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven

Notes

Fry Lamb- 

Really get the outside of the Lamb super toasty and caramelised. This is going to give the Tagine a great depth of flavour. The easiest way to ensure it gets a nice crust is by making sure your lamb is at room temp and oil is very hot.

Spices-

In the ingredients i say “ground” Spices which you can buy at any good supermarket. If you want a really authentic strong flavour packed Tagine, I recommend buying the “whole” versions of the spices and grinding them up with Mortar & Pestle or Coffee Grinder. (makes a big difference). If you cant get whole spices don’t stress because the pre-ground spices will still definitely give great amount of flavour.

Dutch Oven-

 The way you cook this recipe is very important. I highly recommend only using an oven to make this Tagine. This is because the Oven really helps reduce the sauce and give it that caramelised thick consistency that Tagine is signature for. You could use a slow cooker of course, although you wont get as much depth of flavour and sauce may potentially be watery.

Serve-

Because the flavour is so rich in this Tagine don’t over complicate the carb you serve it with. Plain Cous Cous cooked in boiling water is perfect and white steamed rice is yummy too!.