Lamb Tagine with Honey

chia's Note:

Another lamb tagine, this recipe uses ras el hanout (see my recipe). Prep time does not reflect overnight marinating. courtesy of the NY Times.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 lbs lamb shoulder or 3 lbs lamb necks , trimmed of fat and cut into 2 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix
• ¼ teaspoon saffron
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions , finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups dried apricots, roughly chopped or 2 cups raisins
• 1 ½ cups almonds , whole and blanched
• ¾ cup honey (preferably dark)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup carrot , peeled,cut in 1/2 inch thick slices
• ½ cup flat leaf parsley , chopped.

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the ginger, pepper, ras el hanout, saffron and water and mix well.
2. Add the meat and rub in the paste, coating evenly.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. In a Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
5. Add the onions, garlic, and cinnamon sticks and cook until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant.
6. Add the marinated meat to the pot and then the chicken stock to cover the meat.
7. Bring the stock to a boil, and skim off any scum that appears.
8. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring from time to time.
9. Add water if the pot becomes too dry.
10. Stew until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
11. Add the apricots, almonds, honey, carrots, and ground cinnamon and simmer, covered, stirring often to prevent scorching, until the meat is very soft and almost falling part, about 30 minutes longer.
12. (If it is too soupy, uncover and simmer to reduce the sauce to a syrupy glaze.) Stir in the chopped parsley and transfer to a warmed serving dish.
13. Serve immediately with couscous, rice or potatoes.

Reviews

[profken]

I made this recipe based on the great reviews, and I was a bit disappointed. I found the tagine to be both too sweet and too greasy. The lamb shoulder itself is a fairly fatty cut - adding 1/2 cup butter is overkill. I only added 1/4 cup, but still found the result very heavy. Similarly, there needed to be some counterbalance to the honey & cinnamon. I added a jalapeno pepper and salt (strangely missing from the recipe), but it still needed something else. There are a lot of great tagine recipes on this site - this one wasn't my favorite.

[lindseylcw]

Fabulous recipe Chia, Thank you. Put this on the menu at the pub and it was very popular this weekend. Need to cook it in a seriously thick bottomed pan or the sweet sauce will stick and burn but the flavour is lovely with a nice kick.

[Khana]

I LOVED this. I used raisins and for got the parsley. My DH liked it but thought it was a little too sweet for a dinner. (He's just not into dishes with a bit of a sweeter side) I'd make it again.