Lamb Tagine
The inspiration for this incredibly rich lamb tagine comes directly from the holiday kitchen repertoire of the lovely Nigella Lawson, as featured on her irresistibly festive TV series "Nigella's Christmas Kitchen." This version is somewhat adapted, however, to suit the northern culinary longings of the vastly more frigid and inhospitable climate in which I am typically cooking it. I prefer prunes, instead of dates, for their tangy depth, and I add way more liquid to the mix. In other words, the end result is quite a bit more earthy in flavor profile...and much, much more saucy. Ideal cold weather comfort food. Frankly, I can't make it through an Alaskan winter without cooking this lamb tagine.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 2 pounds leg of lamb (or shoulder) trimmed and cut into stew sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup prunes roughly chopped
Red Onion Topping
- 1 small red onion peeled and sliced into very thin half moons
- ½ cup pomegranate juice
- 1 lime
- small bunch fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
Cook the Tagine
- Heat the oven to 325℉. In the meantime, place a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped onions. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Add the ground cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir the spices into the onions and cook for another minute or two, or until the mixture is pleasantly aromatic.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high, and then add the lamb. Stir the meat into the onions until it has been mostly browned on all sides.
- Add the chopped prunes, pomegranate juice, water, and the kosher salt. Then bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
- Put on the lid, and then transfer the pot to the oven. Cook for about 2½ hours, or until the color is a glossy shade of mahogany and the lamb is fork tender.
Prepare the Red Onion Topping
- Place the thinly sliced red onion into a bowl. Pour over the pomegranate juice and squeeze in the lime juice. Allow the onions to steep for at least half an hour.
- Drain the onions from the steeping liquid (and discard the liquid).
- Toss the steeped onions with the chopped cilantro and season to taste with sea salt.
To Serve
- Serve the tagine over a fluffy bed of couscous (or alongside heaps of fresh pita bread), and then generously sprinkle over the red onion topping.