Trip to Morocco: Lamb and Apricot Tagine Recipe

Do you have your bags ready? Today we take off to Morocco!

With about 37 million inhabitants, Morocco is an Arabic and Islamic country located in the north of the African continent. The official languages are Arabic and Amazigh. Nevertheless, French is also understood and spoken by most Moroccans. Its capital is Rabat, however, Casablanca is the city with the most population and Marrakech with more tourists.

Morocco is characterized by its natural treasure, thanks to the mountainous interior, but also the large desert (Sahara) and a long coastline on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

This country is highly sought by tourists, not only for its natural treasure (as mentioned above), culture, fabrics, tea, and crocker, but also for its highly spiced cuisine, rich in color and flavor influenced by Berber, Arab and European traditions.

It's impossible to go to Morocco without tasting the famous Moroccan starters, dishes like La harira, La Pastilla, Méchoui, La R’fissa, La Tanjia, Tagine, and/or sweets like Ghriba, Chebakia and Les Hornes de Gazelle. Not to mention bread and couscous that are essential foods in Moroccan cuisine.

Tagine is the most traditional dish made in Morocco and is named after the pan in which it is made. This pan is characterized by having a cone-shaped lid that allows the condensed steam not to come out and return to the bottom of the pan, favoring heat circulation. This particular shape of the pan, together with the fact that the tagine (dish) is cooked at low temperatures and for a longer time, makes the food (usually meat) more tender.

This dish, originally from the Berbers (first inhabitants of Morocco) is a very slowly cooked stew, with a very characteristic and unique flavor due to the combination of spices and herbs used in the marinade. This mixture is known as Ras el Hanout and typically contains 35 different spices, the most common being ginger, turmeric, sweet paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin.

This dish has several versions, as it can be made using fish, meat, or vegetables, but the recipe that we are going to share with you today is the Lamb and Apricot Tagine.

To make this recipe, we suggest Le Creuset's Tagine pans, available at our store.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 500g lamb leg, diced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp ras el hanout paste
• 200g butternut squash, diced into 3cm cubes
• 1 small bunch of coriander
• 500ml lamb stock
• 1 heaped tbsp soft brown sugar
• Sea salt & cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 150g dried apricots

To serve:

• A handful of Coriander, chopped
• Couscous

Method:

1. Place the tagine over low to medium heat and warm the oil. In batches, brown off the lamb then set aside. If required, add a little more oil and then gently fry the onions for 5 - 6 minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for a further minute before sprinkling in the cumin, cinnamon and paprika. Toast the spice for 2 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure they do not burn.
3. Stir in the ras el hanout paste followed by the butternut squash, coating it in all the spices. Return the browned meat and all its juices to the tagine. Finely dice the coriander and add it to the tagine.
4. Pour in the stock and stir all the ingredients together and bring to boil. Once boiling, stir in the brown sugar and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Place on the tagine lid, turn down the heat and allow to gently simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
6. After 2 hours when the meat is tender, scoop a cup of sauce from the tagine. Whisk in the cornflour to form a smooth paste and pour the mixture back into the tagine. Stir well and the sauce will start to thicken.
7. Add the dried apricots and return the lid and allow to simmer for a final 30 minutes.
8. When ready to serve, remove from the heat and sprinkle with the roughly chopped coriander. Serve alongside couscous.

Are you missing any essential tools for making this recipe? Take a look below at our suggestions for products related to this article, or visit our physical or online store, and we will be happy to help you!

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