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Monday, October 4, 2010

Moroccan Lamb Tagine With Coriander Couscous

 By Antony Vila

Photo: nestle.co.nz

This is a wonderfully spiced dish that works really well with this delicious local lamb from the Yorkshire Wolds. The great combination of spices gives this Moroccan classic a warming taste, without the intense heat of a curry. The quantity of spice I have used is just a guide, like most cooks I tend not to measure, so you might enjoy playing about with the amounts of spices to suit your own taste. The Tagine is a great dish for any occasion - perfect for family or friends - it is very well behaved and tastes even better if you leave it in the fridge and reheat it the following day. The spices have a thickening effect too, so the result is a fabulous dish that you will hopefully want to make again and again.
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 kg lean lamb - trimmed and cubed, use leg or shoulder- the shoulder meat will not break up as much
1 tsp chilli powder
1 level tablespoon paprika pepper
2 good tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 level tablespoon ground ginger
tsp black pepper
Salt
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large onions, diced
125g 'ready to eat' apricots, chopped
2 tbsp seedless raisins
3 tbsp flaked almonds
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
150mls vegetable stock, plus extra to top if necessary
1 tbsp runny honey
Zest and juice of one orange
Bunch of fresh coriander to garnish
Method
Mix all the spices together including the salt and pepper, and then toss the cubes of lamb in the spice mix. The lamb needs to be totally coatedwith the spice mix - so don't be nervous about sprinkling in a little extra spice.
Heat a large ovenproof casserole. Add a couple of generous glugs of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened but not brown.
Add the spiced meat and cook, turning frequently, for approximately 5-10 minutes. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary.
Stir in the chopped apricots, raisins, almonds, chopped tomatoes, stock and honey. Zest in the orange and squeeze in the juice.
Heat until the mixture bubbles and then reduce to a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook gently on the hob or in the oven until the lamb is meltingly tender - approximately 2 hours.
Keep checking the liquid level in the tagine and top up as necessary.
Garnish with some chopped coriander and serve with the Coriander Couscous.
Antony Vila writes for the ultimate online food shopping outlet - Weetons.com. At Weetons.com, we're all about bringing you the best locally sourced food & drink online. We have a huge selection of grocery products including award winning meats, cheeses and delicatessen food.
Weeton's is located at 23/24 West Park, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ, 01423 507 100

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