Do something different for your weeknight dinner with the family. Serve something exotic, and yet easy to pull off at home. This incredibly flavorful Moroccan Lamb Tagine is the perfect warm casserole for a cold day.
A tagine meal might sound sophisticated, but it’s really just a slow-simmered Moroccan stew. This classic Moroccan lamb tagine recipe gets vibrant flavors from a colorful array of warming spices, dried fruits and aromatic lamb. The spices and layers of flavors range from sweet to salty to spicy, but all perfectly balanced and working in unison to make your taste buds dance.
The name tagine also refers to the pot that the stew is cooked in. The pot is made of heavy clay. The domed lid traps the steam and sends the moisture back to the pot, ensuring that food is cooked to tender perfection. Serve this mouthwatering Moroccan lamb tagine over airy couscous to complete your African feast.
If you don’t have a tagine you can still enjoy this meal by using a Dutch Oven
Saffron and cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg, tangy apricots, lemon zest and honey, make this meal stand out with lots of aromatic sauce to mop up with pita or naan bread.
- 1 lb stewing lamb meat
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
- Spice blend: 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp chili flakes, 2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp anise powder or 1 star anise, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 1/4 cup prunes
- 1/4 cup dried apricots
- 3 cups beef stock
- pinch of saffron
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-2 whole dried chilies
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp liquid honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- fresh coriander, chopped
- To serve
- 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
- Couscous
- Naan or pita bread
- Hummus
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
- Heat a skillet with oil over high heat and brown the meat on all sides. Set aside.
- To the same skillet add the spice blend, onion, garlic and ginger. Cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add back the meat, tomato sauce, chickpeas, prunes and apricots.
- Pour in the beef stock. Add saffron, cinnamon stick, dried chilies lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and carefully transfer everything to the tagine dish (if using) or oven safe pot.
- Drizzle over with honey, cover and bake in the preheated 350 F oven for 90 minutes of until fork tender.
This sounds amazing! I had a lamb stew last week while we were in Portugal and loved it. PInning this one to try soon!
Thanks Elaine! Hope you’ll love this one too!
Making a tagine has been been on my to-do list for far too long. This looks amazing… I will definitely be making this! Pinning to try. Thanks for the inspiration ♥♥♥
Thanks Maria! I really hope you will love it!
This recipe sounds delicious — I still have some saffron I bought in the spice market in Turkey and now I know just how to use it up! Thanks for this!
Saffron bought in Turkey! Nice! A little goes a long way! Thanks Gabby!
I love slow cooked dishes like tagine! Roast beef is a staple in my home and I think I’ll be trying out lamb tagine for the regular rotation as well. They just have so much flavour and utility once they’re cooked!
Right on! Thanks so much Riz! Yes, chicken, beef, lamb or even all veggies would be amazing!
I made this recipe and I have to say it is an incredible recipe. I cut the cumin in half and would use preserved lemon instead of lemon zest. Apart from that it’s perfect
I’ve done this recipe 5 times now and it is by far the best recipe I’ve ever cooked. I’ve tweaked my way, and I do not like how hot the amount of cayenne pepper makes the dish, so I found that ¹/⁴ OF A TEASPOON, IS PLENTY . I also add golden sweet potato and chunks of eggplant after the dish has been in the oven for about 20 min. I love it, guests love it. I am very generous with the honey. I am not a good cook nor enjoy it very much because I fail most of the time. This recipe had members of the family coming to say it was the best “stew” they’ve ever had.
Thank you for the amazing creation
I’ve made this twice now. Absolutely delicious. Tonight I added sweet potato and eggplant. The flavours and textures were exceptional.
Do you put dry chickpeas or the ones from a tin?