Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Raisins, Almond and Honey
As I was browsing the “Quick and Easy” section of Epicurious I came across this recipe. I thought to my self: “What, no way. This sounds like what I had at Fez (Le Club Fez, a local French/Moroccan restaurant). But this looks way too easy. Oh okay, I’ll try it, but I’m sure it is going to turn out bland and whatever else. There is no way that it is THIS easy to make this dish.” I think that it was in the quick and easy section because even though it has to cook for a few hours, there is only about 15 minutes of preparation before hand. I adjusted it based on the fact that the store only had Lamb legs instead of Lamb shoulder. And I didn’t have any ras-el-hanout, so I found this recipe. I have a “smidgen” measuring spoon, which is slightly smaller than 1/8 tsp, so I used that as my base and added the appropriate proportions of each ingredient. I also left out each ingredient that was already included in the lamb recipe, as I didn’t want to double up on any of the spices.
The result was good. So so good.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons ras-el-hanout
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
3 cups water
2 lb boneless lamb leg, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups raisins
1 1/4 cups whole blanched almonds
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation
Whisk together ras-el-hanout, salt, pepper, ginger, saffron, and 1 cup water in a 5-quart heavy pot. Stir in lamb, remaining 2 cups water, onion, garlic, cinnamon sticks, and butter and simmer, covered, until lamb is just tender, 1 1/2 hours.
Stir in raisins, almonds, honey, and ground cinnamon and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes more. Uncover pot and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until stew is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes more.
Serve over couscous
February 25th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
For anyone who is curious, this was especially delicious!