Lamb Tagine is a spicy Moroccan or North African stew made in a special clay pot, which gives the dish its name. Tagines can be made with chicken, beef, fish, or lamb, plus vegetables and fruit. Click here for a bit of history about tagines.
The spices and the fruits used can be varied according to your personal tastes. I use orange juice and preserved lemon in this Lamb Tagine recipe because I don’t care for a stew that’s too sweet. If you have never made preserved lemons, which can be used in variety of dishes, you can find my recipe here. Also, it can be purchased in Middle Eastern sections of grocery or specialty stores.
The best cut of lamb for tagine is the shoulder, which should be cut into cubes. Dry the cubes on paper towels so they brown nicely.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven, and brown the lamb cubes in two or three batches.
Sauté the lamb.
When nicely browned, remove the lamb to a bowl.
The browned lamb.
Slice the carrots and the celery, and brown them in the same oil for just a minute or so.
Cook the carrots and celery.
Remove them with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl.
Combine the spices in a small bowl.
Combine the spices.
In my version of Lamb Tagine, the spices include coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, fennel, cayenne, and cloves. Cinnamon, a spice almost always found in tagines, I’ve eliminated simply because I don’t care for the taste of it with meats. Use a cinnamon stick if you choose to include it. Lightly toast the sliced almonds in the oven.
Chop the onion coarsely, mince the garlic and the ginger. Lower the heat in the same Dutch oven in which you browned the lamb, and cook the onion until is softened. Add the garlic, the ginger, and the spices, and cook for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the browned lamb back into the Dutch oven, and stir everything together.
Drain the diced tomatoes and, add them to the stew along with the tomato paste, chicken stock, orange juice, and optional pomegranate molasses or honey. If you decide to use cinnamon, place the stick in the pot at this point. Bring to a simmer.
Add the tomatoes and stock.
Cover the Dutch oven and place it in a 350° oven for one hour, stirring occasionally and checking that the liquid is not evaporating. If it is, add a bit more chicken stock or water.
After one hour, add the carrots and celery, and cook for another half hour. Remove the cover and let the stew come to room temperature. Run paper towels over the top of the stew to remove any accumulated oil.
Bring the Lamb Tagine back to the simmer. Chop the preserved lemon and add it to the tagine along with the green olives for the last few minutes of cooking. Both the preserved lemon and the olives add quite a bit of salt to the tagine. Taste for seasoning.
Chop the lemon and olives.
Add the lemon and olives.
Serve the Lamb Tagine over couscous or rice. Sprinkle toasted almonds over the top of each serving.
