Mohamed's Mean Lamb Cutlets

This dish IS a tagine, though these days most Moroccan home cooks do not use a Tagine any longer due to the cost of gas for cooking. Pressure cooking is the preferred method of making a tagine today. You will find tagine cooking in a Tagine now in the very rural areas where there is no stove present and/or for tourist show. Tagine simply means to stew and this can be done in a dutch oven, large heavy pot, or pressure cooker. We serve this on a communal platter with bread, salad and olives when we are in an olive mood. This is a dish made by my husband quite often when I can't or don't feel like cooking. I have made it as well and it is a great winter warmer! P.S. We serve every meal with Hajar's wicked sauce tomatish which freezes well. c.2005

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  shoulder lamb chops, - 1 inch thick
• 2  cups sweet white onions, chopped. Approx. 2 cups
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 2  fresh tomatoes
• 1  bunch flat leaf parsley (fold this up and tie with a parsley stem or if you have to use kitchen string or kitchen twine)
• 1  bunch fresh coriander, fold this up and tie
• 2  tablespoons  cooking oil, divided
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  cooking salt, to season meat
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to season meat
• 3⁄4 teaspoon  cooking salt
• 2  teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1  teaspoon paprika
• 2  cups water, approx

Directions

1. Brown the seasoned chops in 1 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet. Set aside.
2. Sauté onions, garlic, in a stewing or large pot in the other 1 tablespoons of oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add the cooking salt, pepper, ginger and paprika. Sauté with the onions and garlic for 1 minute.
4. Add the chops to the pot along with the water and drop in the parsley and coriander parcels. Add tomato (grated as we do here or chopped) and stir being careful not to dislodge the herb packets.
5. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer on low heat 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer on medium low heat another 15 minutes.
6. Place the chops onto a platter and cover with the brothy sauce. Serve with bread, salad and a cold drink. Follow with a pot of mint tea. P.S. Yes, Mohamed and I serve sauce tomatish with this too! We love the stuff, what can I say?!