When you see the word “tagine” in a recipe title, you might shy away immediately. Not everyone has a tagine at home. But there’s good news. You can use a Dutch oven instead. Alternatively, any good-sized pot with a fitted lid does the trick.
The aroma this recipe produces in your home will make people’s mouths water and stomachs growl. It’s a complex flavored meal, but not a lot of work. Like many other recipes, the lamb tagine gets better if you let it sit overnight in the refrigerator so flavors marry.
Lamb Tagine
When you see the word “tagine” in a recipe title, you might shy away immediately. Not everyone has a tagine at home. But there’s good news. You can use a Dutch oven instead. Alternatively, any good-sized pot with a fitted lid does the trick. The aroma this recipe produces in your home will make people’s mouths water and stomachs growl. It’s a complex flavored meal, but not a lot of work. Like many other recipes, the lamb tagine gets better if you let it sit overnight in the refrigerator so flavors marry.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds lamb roast (boneless)
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 cup dried apricots (golden raisins, figs, prunes, or dates)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ tsp each ground cardamom (nutmeg, and cloves)
- ½ tsp each ground turmeric and coriander
- Pinch saffron
- Coarse ground black pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ½ cup toasted almond slivers
- Mint leaves (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Cut lamb into 1” pieces
- Chop the onion and cilantro
- Slice the garlic
- Mince the ginger
- Place the lamb in a large bowl. Toss it with the salt. Let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- In a saucier, bring the chicken bone broth to a low, rolling boil.
- Remove from the heat, and add the apricots (or other fruit of your choosing)
- Leave it to sit for 15 minutes.
- Sautee the lamb until golden brown. Set aside.
- In the tagine or Dutch oven, cook the onion over medium heat with olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Follow with ginger and garlic.
- When they are fragrant, stir in tomato paste
- Add the cinnamon, saffron, and pepper
- Move both the lamb and apricot broth into the pot
- Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat for simmering
- Cover and cook for 90 minutes (test the lamb for tenderness)
- Turn off the heat, add your cilantro
- Garnish with almonds and mint
Notes
Serving Tip: Put on top of couscous, Ditalini, orzo, or acini de pepe