Having bought a tagine in the post-Christmas sales, it had been sitting on the shelf, staring longingly at me and whimpering “please, use me…”
Definitely a winter thing, the tagine had its debut last Monday night. What does a tagine actually do? The conical-shaped lid is designed to promote the return of the condensation to the bottom of the dish. The tagine creates an especially moist cooking environment for the food. Nigel Slater’s Lamb and Apricot Tagine is bursting with Moroccan flavours and ended up having a lovely smokiness thanks to the caramelisation and slight charring of the meat and sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Prep time- 4 hours Cooking time – 2.5 hours Serves – 4 larger, 6 smaller
Ingredients
- 1kg diced lamb shoulder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for the tagine)
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 60g sultanas
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 750ml vegetable, lamb or chicken stock
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 120g dried apricots, halved
- 3 tablespoons flaked almonds
- handful of coriander, chopped
- handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 450g couscous
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 450ml boiling water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for the couscous)
- natural yogurt to dollop on top
Method
- Placed the cubed lamb in a deep bowl and sprinkle over half of the dried spices, tossing the meat so that each piece is coated in the aromatics. Cover the bowl with a tea-towel and leave to rest for at least four hours (although overnight would be best).
- When you’re ready to start cooking, place the Tagine on top of your stove.
- Pour the olive oil into the Tagine or your dish and place the dish on a cooking ring, over a medium heat. When the oil has heated up you can add the spice-covered lamb pieces in small batches, browning them on all sides before scooping them out and placing them to one side.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan with the remaining dried spices and stir them through, allowing the vegetables to soften and colour lightly.
- Add the sultanas, saffron, flaked almonds and apricots, stirring them through the softened onions and spices, then return the meat to the pan.
- Pour the chopped tomatoes and stock into the dish and increase the heat, bringing the contents to the boil.
- Season the stew with salt and black pepper, then cover the dish with a lid – reduce the heat – and leave for 21/hours or so.
- Ten minutes before the tagine is cooked, put the couscous and salt into a large bowl and add the boiling water.
- Cover with a tea towel and leave to soak for five minutes.
- Uncover the couscous and fluff up into separate grains with a fork. Drizzle on the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Take the tagine off the heat.
- To serve, scatter the chopped coriander and parsley over the top, and dollop on some yogurt.
