How to Cook Lamb Tagine
A quick and easy nod to Morocco
Following a productive afternoon constructing a framework for next years container grown chillies in the hothouse I decided to carry on the spice theme with dinner. The late afternoon brought a blustery chill and my thoughts turned to a hot, fruity and aromatic moroccan stew cooked in my brilliant tagine.
When cooking at home I don’t hang around, my lifestyle dictates multi-tasking so on went the oven, the washing machine, the PC and finally the bath. The beauty of a tagine is in the way it cooks everything tenderly and harmoniously, bringing all of the individual spices together under a roof of self induced steam.
Tagine is a bit like curry for beginners, it is mildly spicy (a spoon of harissa can soon change that) but full of aromatic flavours leaving one yearning for more of the same, a ‘tad’ more chilli, perhaps? or maybe the seductive sourness of the preserved lemon has won you over, whatever takes your fancy feel free to adjust accordingly.
Crank the oven up, heat a wide bottomed saucepan to comfortably fry the desired amount of meat and seal the diced lamb or beef in a little olive oil. Now the spices, if you’ve got the time then roast and grind, if you haven’t use ready ground. Mix together a teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander, cumin, 3 or 4 cloves, and the same of cardamom. Add a good dose of freshly milled pepper and salt. Sprinkle over the browning meat and mix well. Peel and chop an onion or two, throw in a couple of whole dried chillies or a teaspoon of chilli powder. Snap a cinnamon stick in half and put that in alongside a squeeze of tomato puree.
Boil the kettle and make a pint or so of stock, cover the meat with a tin of chopped tomatoes, add a teaspoon or two of chopped preserved lemons then add the stock to cover the meat. Chuck in a couple of torn bay leaves, some shredded mint and coriander. Pour everything into your tagine pot, stick the lid on and bake for a couple of hours at 180.
After an hour give it a stir and a taste, adjust the seasoning and add a few dates and/or prunes/apricots. Once cooked stir in more fresh mint and coriander and serve with a bowl of plain cous cous.
Miles,
My preserved lemons are ready, there’s great excitment in the air…. I get like that you know when new ingredients are mentioned! A tagine is about the only thing I haven’t got but that won’t stop me, although the aesthetically pleasing shape of the tagine is undeniable….. of course when my back yard excavations are finished I shall want a ‘mother’ of a fire-pit burning tagine
Cid
November 6, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Miles,
That looks yummy. Like Cid, I do not possess a tagine. Could I not get away with a Le Creuset pot?
November 6, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
I’ve feasted on one of his tagine dishes and I can tell you it it tatses every bit as good as it looks.
I’m about ready for another come to think of it
November 6, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
Cid,
Try Lakeland Plastics for a tagine pot, they’re quite cheap. Glad the lemons are ready-happy cooking!
Miles
November 6, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
Elsie,
Yes a Le Creuset pot would work perfectly well, basically you need a pot, a lid and and a sense of adventure!
Miles
November 6, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Rod,
If I invite you over for a tagine then you know I’ve got a DIY to do list!!!
Miles
November 6, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
Miles
it’s worth it !
Providing you don’t want the house re roofing or something !
November 7, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Miles,
Having printed off a copy of this tasty looking recipe, I am struck by the use of cinnamon stick. It would just not have occured to me to use one in a savoury recipe. Is that part of what you meant by having a sense of adventure?
November 7, 2007 @ 1:41 pm