Lamb Tagine

Last year for Christmas we got a tagine dish. Initially sceptical, I couldn't imagine that a tagine cooked in this would be any different from a tagine cooked in any other kind of casserole dish. Well my scepticism was unfounded - the tagine that emerged from this dish was juicy and delicious, the lamb meltingly tender and the sauce thick and unctuous. The only problem is that you can only cook enough for four and it would be nice to have a bigger pot for entertaining. The tagine cooks long and slow and needs virtually no attention during its time in the oven. Serve it with couscous and some steamed veg for a hearty warming dinner.

This was the first time that I have used the North African spice mix, ras el hanout. Before I have resorted to a mixture of paprika, cumin and coriander. The ras el hanout made a big difference. It's difficult to say what the main flavours are, but there is pepper, cinnamon and a chili kick, but  also a surprising scent of rose as I fried the meat. This wasn't obvious in the finished dish, but I guess it must have added an extra dimension. I was lucky enough to get some brought back from Tunisia, but it is available in some supermarkets or online. Definitely worth tracking down.

For four people:

about 800g diced lamb shoulder, most (but not all) of the fat removed (I bought a shoulder roast with the bone in, weighing about 1.1kg)

1 large leek, cleaned and sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

ras el hanout spice mix brought back from Tunisia.

1 tbsp ras el hanout spice mix

1 tsp flour

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp harissa paste

a few sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped

a cooked red pepper (antipasti type from a jar) chopped

1 can tomatoes

about 10 dried apricots, roughly chopped

about 6 dates, roughly chopped

sea salt to taste

fresh coriander, chopped

good handful of flaked blanched almonds

Pre heat the oven to 150 C
Toss the cubes of meat in the ras el hanout, smoked paprika and flour, then fry them in batches in sunflower oil to brown them all over.
Transfer the meat to the tagine dish, deglaze the pan with a bit of the juice from the can of tomatoes and put that with the meat. 
Using the same pan, gently fry the leeks and fresh red pepper in some of the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. It should only be slightly softened and slightly browned, not cooked through. Throw in the garlic, the sundried tomatoes, cooked pepper, harrissa, apricots, dates and the tin of tomatoes. Swish out the can of tomatoes with about half a can of water and add that to the mixture and bring almost to the boil. Season with some sea salt.
Add the lamb cubes and stir it all together, then transfer it all to the tagine dish, put the lid on and put it into the preheated oven for 2 hours. It can stay in there longer, just lower the heat down to about 100 C. Don't lift the lid during cooking - it will all stay nice and moist if you just leave it alone.
Before serving, scatter the top with the flaked almonds and some chopped fresh coriander.
Serve with couscous (allow around 75g dry couscous per person)