Lamb Tagine with Apples & Apricots
by Hanane OuaddahouCategory
Lunch/Dinner/Tagines
Servings
4
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Author:
Hanane OUADDAHOU
Morocco and all the North African Countries are famous for tagines.
There are so many varieties of tagines...What i like mostly in this dish: it gives me the chance to create and combine anything i want or i have available...
We can mix the meat or chicken with vegetables or fresh fruits, dried fruits, nuts...depending what we have and seasonal market...
Here is a sweet and spicy tagine. A savory combination of dried apricots, golden apples and meat stewed with saffron, cinnamon and Ras El Hanout
Delicious and easy to make, it's a classic Moroccan recipe which works equally well as a family dinner or special occasion meal.
The tradition calls to serve it with moroccan khobz or bread but i like to serve it with rice, couscous, or even quinoa for a healthier version!
Bon Appétit!!
Ingredients
1 Kg Lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
2 cloves of garlic, grated or minced
1 small bunch or parsley and cilantro, tied into a bouquet
1 tsp Turmeric
2 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1 1/2 tsp "Hanouna's Taste Ras El Hanout"
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 knob of butter
1 kg golden apples
12 dry apricots
1 orange juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon powder
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp orange blossom water
Almonds sliced
Dried Rose buds
Prepare the meat
Caramelize the fruits
Garnish
Directions
Cook the meat
In a large dutch oven or pressure cooker, melt the butter with the oil, stir in the onion, garlic and tomato. Stir well. Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir to mix well. Let it simmer for 5 minutes
Add water (around 3 cups). Cover and cook with pressure for about 40 minutes or simmer for an hour and a half or until the meat is tender
Reduce the sauce until it thickens
Cook the fruits
While the meat is cooking, prepare the apples and apricots
Cut the apples into quarters then core them. Put them into a bowl of water with lemon to avoid them turning brown
Drain the apples, boil or steam them until tender but still firm
In a large skillet, put all the ingredients and 3 tbsp of the meat sauce. Add the apples and apricots and let it simmer and cook until thick syrup forms
Stir or turn the apples and apricots time to time to coat them with the syrup on all sides
To serve
Discard the herbs bouquet, place the meat and sauce in a large tagine or serving plate. Arrange the fruits around, spooning the syrup over the meat and the fruits
Garnish with some almonds slices and dried roses and serve hot
Recipe Note
You can replace the lamb by any other meat: Chicken, beef, goat...
For a quick recipe, i used the pressure cooker to cook the meat.
But you can use a heavy pot or a traditional tagine for a slow cooking version