Being a firm favourite both of Moroccan tagine flavours and of lamb, this is a frequent part of our diet. It is an excellent way of using shoulder of lamb.
Planning
| serves: | 4 |
| preparation time: | 30 mins |
| cooking time: | 2 hrs |
Ingredients
- 750g lamb shoulder, cut into 2cm cubes
- olive oil
- 2 tbs plain flour
- 1 tbs ground coriander
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- salt & pepper
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 10 fl oz water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 250g cooked chick peas (or 1 can, if you must, drained)
- 400g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
- 1 preserved lemon
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas 2.
Mix the flour, coriander, cumin and several grindings of salt and pepper in a large polythene bag. Put in the cubes of lamb and clamp the top keeping as much air in the bag as possible. Now shake the lot to coat the lamb with the seasoned flour. Tip everything out onto a plate reserving the excess flour which will be used later.
Shake excess flour from the lamb pieces before browning them in the olive oil. As they brown, remove them to a tagine (a lidded casserole will do as a substitute). Once all the lamb has browned, add the onion to the same oil and fry over medum heat to soften. Lower the heat and stir in the remaining seasoned flour. Cook this gently for a couple of minutes to develop the flavours. Stirring all the time, add the water, increase the heat a little and bring to the boil. Pour this over the lamb and add the cinnamon stick. Cover and bake in the oven for 1½ hours.
Remove the tagine from the oven and stir in the chick peas and sweet potato dice. Return it to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the preserved lemon into small chunks (traditionally just the skin of the lemon is used). After the 20 minutes, remove the tagine and stir in the preserved lemon. Return the tagine to the oven for a final 10 minutes to develop the flavour of the preserved lemon.
Serve this with some Herbed Couscous.
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