Lamb tagine with stewed apricots and prunes (mrouzia)

A Moroccan staple, ‘tagine’ refers to both the dish and the vessel in which it is cooked. This recipe makes use of the classic sweet/savoury combination with stewed prunes and apricots to offset the unctuous lamb.

Credit: Tom Donald

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  2:10 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ras el hanout (see Note)
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tsp ghee
• 125 ml (½ cup) olive oil
• 6 x 225 g lamb neck chops
• 4 onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 100 g (⅔ cup) raisins, soaked in a bowl of cold water for 2 minutes, drained
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• roasted blanched almonds and toasted white sesame seeds, to serve

Stewed apricots and prunes

• 200 g (1⅓) dried apricots
• 200 g prunes, pitted
• 125 ml (½ cup) orange juice

Marinating time 10 minutes

Instructions

Combine ras el hanout, saffron threads, ghee, oil and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Add lamb, mix to coat and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add lamb and cook, turning, for 4 minutes or until browned all over. Cover lamb with 1 litre (4 cups) water and simmer over low heat, covered, for 1½ hours or until lamb is tender.

Meanwhile, to make stewed fruit, combine all ingredients in a saucepan with 180 ml (¾ cup) water over low heat and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 12 minutes or until fruit is plump. Set aside until needed.

Remove lamb from pan and set aside. Add onion to same pan and cook for 5 minutes or until it starts to soften. Reduce heat to low, add raisins and cook for 15 minutes. Add honey and sugar and cook for 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced by one-third. Return lamb to pan and cook for a further 10 minutes or until tender and warmed through. Stir through cinnamon and remove from heat.

To serve, transfer lamb to a large serving plate, cover with sauce, spoon over stewed fruit and sprinkle almonds and sesame seeds on top.

Note

• Ras el hanout is a Moroccan blend of spices from specialist food shops.

Photography Tom Donald.

As seen in Feast magazine, October 2014, Issue 36.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.