Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Uses Shoulder Chops or Shanks

A tagine is actually a conical pot used in Moroccan cooking. I don't own one (this site is mind-boggling - who knew?) but it isn't necessary to have one to cook a good tagine. I use my copper dutch oven so feel free to use any heavy pot with a lid that will fit in your oven. For the lamb, I use our bone-in shoulder chops but if you can't find bone-in (they add more flavor, you know), use any lamb stew cut. You can experiment with using fresh fruits (apples, pears, plums) or other dried fruits such as raisins and figs. Making a tagine is like making art - layers of experimentation and each one is different.

2 lbs. lamb shoulder chops or shanks
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
2 cups water
1 cup dried prunes
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into 1/4” pieces
4 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon (and more to taste)
3 large carrots - peeled and cut into 1/2” diagonal chunks
2 Tablespoons butter
2 medium size firm apples (Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Delicious)
1 Tablespoon honey
handful of slivered almonds
For serving: cooked basmatic rice or couscous

In a dutch oven, brown the lamb on all sides over medium high heat in the olive oil. Remove to a platter. Peel and chop the onions. Brown the onions. Chop the garlic, add to the onions and cook for one minute. Return the lamb to the pot. Add 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of the freshly grated fresh ginger and the cinnamon and bring to a boil on top of stove. Cover and place in a 250 degree oven and cook for 4 hours until the meat falls easily off the bone. (Alternately use a crock pot set on low and let cook all day. You can skip the browning step for crock pot cooking.)

Boil some water and soak the dried prunes and apricots in water while the meat is cooking (for at least 1/2 hour). Reserve the soaking liquid.

When lamb is falling off the bones, remove from oven, let cool a bit so you don’t burn your fingers and remove the bones. Add the carrots, prunes, chopped apricots, and optional honey and cook uncovered on top of stove until the carrots are tender. Add the fruit soaking liquid if the tagine has dried out too much. Simmer a bit more letting the sauce thicken as the liquid evaporates. The tagine sauce should not be too liquidy - you want it to have body and thickness to it. Add 2 more tablespoons of freshly grated ginger. Taste the tagine and add more cinnamon if you like. Continue to simmer over very low heat or in the oven while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut into thin slices. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in frying pan and saute the apples, taking care that they do not become mushy - you want them to remain crisp. In a separate frying pan, toast some slivered almonds, taking care not to burn them.

Cook basmati rice or couscous according to your favorite method. Place a scoop of rice or couscous on each plate. Spoon a few of the sauteed apples on top and then ladle some of the lamb tagine on top. Sprinkle with with some toasted almonds to add a crunchy texture. Top with fresh parsley or mint.