In my Moroccan Itinerary I mentioned eating at Palais Jad Mahal, my first meal there was a Lamb Tagine and it was absolutely delicious. I have come to the conclusion that lamb is my favourite meat it has such a distinctive flavour and when cooked properly the texture is magical. There are many types of tagines using different meats or vegetables or both; a tagine is a North African stew that is slow cooked. The name tagine also refers to the pot that the stew is cooked in, it is made of heavy clay that is sometimes glazed, there is a base that is flat and round and a conical top with a small hole allowing air to pass.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Couscous
Making this meal brought all the great memories from Morocco into the kitchen and it will take you on a journey with all the spices and layers of flavours from sweet, to salty to spicy but all perfectly balanced and working in unison to make your taste buds happy. If you don’t have a tagine you can still enjoy this meal by using a casserole dish, it might not take you all the way to Morocco but it’ll get you at least halfway there 😉 The couscous is the best couscous I have ever eaten, it had was so tasty that I couldn’t help going back for more. The greatest thing about this recipe is that you are only active for 15 minutes, the rest of the time you are just waiting for the magic to happen while the lamb is marinating or the dish is cooking but there is no hard labour.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine (Stew) over Couscous
Over a medium heat, heat a lug of vegetable oil and fry your onions, garlic and ginger until soft but not coloured. Then add the seasoned lamb chops and brown all over, add tomato sauce, almonds, chickpeas and dates and mix well.
Cooking the lamb
Meanwhile bring your vegetable stock to the boil, add your saffron and chilli flakes and remove from the heat.
If you’re using a traditional tagine, transfer the lamb and vegetables to it then gently pour over the stock (same process if you are using a casserole dish).
Pour stock over lamb and vegetables
Drizzle your honey over the top, season and cover. Place over a low heat for 2 hours or in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven. Make sure you keep the lid on!
Keep the lid on your tagine
Lamb Tagine
Lamb Tagine (Moroccan Lamb Stew)
Put couscous on the plate
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Couscous
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Couscous
Live, Love, Eat!
April x
- 1 kg lamb chops (you could use shoulder, cubed)
- 4 tablespoons of El Has Ranout (if you can’t find this blend 2 tsp ground nutmeg, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp cinnamon powder)
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into ½ slices
- 1 cup chickpeas
- ½ cup pitted dates roughly chopped
- ¼ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
- 2 cups Vegetable stock
- Pinch of saffron
- ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- vegetable oil
- parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 cups of couscous
- Pinch of saffron
- 2 cups of Vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- First take your El Has Ranout (or other dry spice mix) and rub well into your lamb chops, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- Over a medium heat, heat a lug of vegetable oil and fry your onions, garlic and ginger until soft but not coloured. Then add the lamb chops and brown all over, add tomato sauce, almonds, chickpeas and dates and mix well.
- Meanwhile bring your vegetable stock to the boil, add your saffron and chilli flakes and remove from the heat.
- If you’re using a traditional tagine, transfer the lamb and vegetables to it then gently pour over the stock (same process if you are using a casserole dish).
- Drizzle your honey over the top, season and cover. Place over a low heat for 2 hours or in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven. Make sure you keep the lid on!
- Bring the stock to the boil and add the saffron and simmer for 1 minute. Then add the oil and couscous, stir well and cover with a tight fitting lid for about 10 minutes until the couscous is no longer crunchy.
- To serve, spoon the couscous onto a large plate, fluffing with a fork, ladle on the lamb and vegetables before garnishing with parsley.
OMG!! #foodporn
Glad you like the look of this one Rochelle 😀