Moroccan · Main
Lamb Tagine
The celebration tagine — lamb collapsed in saffron-ginger onions, prunes glazed separately in cinnamon and honey so they lacquer instead of dissolving; sesame and fried almonds for the final jewelled crunch
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 165 min
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- Lamb shoulder, 5 cm pieces, bone-in preferred — 1600 g
- Onions, grated — 350 g
- Garlic, grated — 12 g
- Ground ginger — 6 g
- Saffron, steeped in 30 ml hot water — 0.3 g
- Ground cinnamon — 4 g (divided)
- Olive oil — 60 ml
- Fine sea salt — 15 g
- Black pepper — 3 g
- Water — 500 ml
- Prunes, pitted — 250 g
- Honey — 50 g
- Blanched almonds — 60 g
- Sesame seeds, toasted — 15 g
- Neutral oil (for almonds) — 100 ml
Method
- Toss lamb with onion, garlic, ginger, 2 g cinnamon, salt, pepper and olive oil.
- Set in a heavy pot over medium heat, uncovered, 10 min, turning — the onions must sweat, not brown.
- Add water and saffron; braise covered at the barest simmer (or 150 °C oven) 2–2.5 h until the meat leaves the bone at a nudge.
- Prunes: simmer with honey, remaining cinnamon and 100 ml of the braise liquid, 12–15 min, until glossy and swollen.
- Reduce the lamb sauce uncovered to a rich, clinging consistency; return prunes gently.
- Fry almonds in oil at 160 °C to gold, 3 min; drain.