Persian lamb tagine recipe

The Lebanese Recipes Kitchen (The home of delicious Lebanese Recipes and Middle Eastern food recipes) invites you to try Persian lamb tagine recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern Cuisine and learn how to make Persian lamb tagine. 

Prep: 25 mins Cook: 1 hr, 50 mins
Skill level Moderately easy
Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients

2kg lamb neck fillets
5 tbsp mild olive oil or sunflower oil
3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
large pinch of saffron
2 cinnamon sticks
2 preserved lemons (from a jar), drained and cut into thin wedges
300g ready-to-eat dried apricots
250g ready-to-eat dried pitted dates
100g shelled pistachios
2 tsp rosewater
25g cornflour
small bunch coriander, leaves roughly chopped
cooked couscous or basmati rice, to serve

Help To freeze

Discard the cinnamon sticks and freeze the cooked tagine – before adding the coriander – in two large foil dishes or a freezer-proof container for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw the tagine overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a lidded casserole dish in the oven at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 for 45 mins or until piping hot throughout.

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Trim the lamb of any hard fat, cut into chunks and season all over. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the lamb in 3-4 batches over a high heat for 1-2 mins until lightly coloured. Add 1 tbsp more oil between each batch and transfer to a bowl each time a batch is browned.
2. Heat the remaining oil in the same dish over a medium heat and fry the onions for 5 mins or until softened and lightly coloured. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, 1 tsp ground black pepper and 1 tsp flaked sea salt. Cook for 1 min, stirring. Return the lamb to the dish and add 1.5 litres of water, the saffron, cinnamon and lemons. Bring to a simmer, stirring a few times. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hr.
3. Carefully remove the dish from the oven and stir in the apricots, dates and half the pistachios, then cover once more and return to the oven. Cook for a further 30 mins or until the lamb is very tender.
4. Transfer the dish to the hob and adjust the seasoning to taste. Mix the cornflour with 3 tbsp cold water and stir into the tagine. Cook over a medium heat for 1-2 mins or until the sauce thickens. (Thickening the sauce with cornflour isn’t traditional but helps the tagine to freeze more successfully.) When ready to serve, roughly chop the remaining nuts and sprinkle over the top. Garnish with coriander and serve with couscous or rice.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2014
 
More from the Lebanese Recipes Kitchen:

Freekeh with chicken recipe
Lamb shoulder with spiced stuffing (raqbeh mahshieh) recipe
Basic roast beef & vegetables
Stuffed Cabbage with Vegetables and Beef Steak
Light Lentil Soup with Minced Beef
Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

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