Braised Lamb With Honey And Almonds Recipes

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE WITH HONEY AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Cut lamb into 1 1/2-inch cubes and place in a medium-sized bowl. Season the lamb with turmeric, ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Heat a tagine or Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and half of the seasoned lamb. Cook the lamb until browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the pan and set aside. Repeat with remaining oil and lamb.
• Return the seared lamb to the pan and add the diced onions. Cook, stirring to get the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, saffron, and cilantro bundle and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender.
• Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the apricots and raisins and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain and set the fruit aside.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat, place it on a clean plate, and keep warm. Bring the remaining liquid in the pan to a simmer. Add the sliced onions, apricots, raisins, honey, cinnamon, ground pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Return the liquid to a simmer and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until mixture is slightly thickened. Add the cooked lamb back into the sauce and cook to heat through, about 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs. Serve with Moroccan Vegetable Couscous and Moroccan Yogurt with Preserved Lemon Dip.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the red pepper halves and onion quarters with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium bowl. Arrange pepper and onion, cut sides down, on a small baking sheet, drizzling any remaining olive oil onto the baking sheet as well. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the skin is browned and bubbly. Peel, seed, and dice the red bell pepper and dice the onion. Set aside.
• Rinse the couscous in a fine-meshed strainer under cold running water until completely soaked. Drain and place in a medium bowl. Allow couscous to stand and swell for 5 minutes.
• Arrange a vegetable steamer or other steamer insert with small holes in a large stockpot with water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil and add the couscous to the vegetable steamer. Cover tightly and steam for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender and fluffy. Remove from the steamer, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and fluff with a fork. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cauliflower, and cook until lightly brown and softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, zucchini, tomatoes and juices, garbanzo beans, chopped red onion and bell pepper, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings with the salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, and cover to keep warm.
• In a small skillet heat the butter over medium heat. When foamy, add the almonds and cook until toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Arrange the couscous on a large serving platter and top with the vegetable mixture, tossing gently. Sprinkle toasted almonds over the top and serve immediately.
• Put the yogurt in a cheesecloth lined strainer over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to drain.
• Put the drained yogurt in a medium bowl and stir in the cucumber, mint, and lemon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

BRAISED LAMB WITH TOMATO AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Cut 2 pounds lamb shoulder into 2-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat; remove.
• To the skillet, add onion, garlic, carrots, olives and cloves; cook until fragrant. Add wine, tomatoes with their juice and browned lamb. When the liquid boils, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Garnish: Chopped toasted almonds and cilantro.

BRAISED LAMB WITH HONEY AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and raise heat to medium-high. Add lamb chunks and adjust heat so pieces brown rapidly without burning. Season meat with salt and pepper as it browns.
• Turn off heat and wait for pan to cool a bit; pour off excess fat. Turn heat back to medium and add honey; cook, stirring, until honey has thinned and coated lamb. Stir in garlic, then add spices, reserved onions and the stock. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, put almonds in a skillet, in one layer. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet, until lightly browned and fragrant.
• Taste meat mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir in almonds and serve, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice and garnished with the parsley

HONEY-BRAISED LEG OF LAMB WITH CARROTS AND FENNEL

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the mint, rosemary and garlic. Open up the lamb flat on a baking sheet and top with some salt and pepper, about 2 tablespoons of the honey and about three-quarters of the herb-garlic mix. Roll up the lamb and tie it with butcher's twine, then top with the remaining honey and herb-garlic mix. Refrigerate, uncovered, for about 2 hours to marinate, then let the lamb come to room temperature before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Add the chicken broth, white wine, carrots, onions and fennel to a large Dutch oven, then set the lamb on top of the vegetables. Roast until the lamb registers an internal temperature of 130 degrees F (medium rare) on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours.
• Let the lamb rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a serving platter.
• In a small bowl, use a fork to mash the butter and flour together to form a smooth paste. Place the Dutch oven with the pan juices over medium heat and bring to a simmer, then whisk in the butter and flour mixture. Bring to a boil and heat until thickened, about 3 minutes.
• Slice the lamb and serve with the vegetables and pan sauce spooned over.

ROSEMARY-HONEY BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER AND MINT JASMATI RICE

Steps:

• For the lamb: Heat a medium size stockpot that can hold the lamb shoulder. Using a skewer, poke the lamb as deep as a sprig of rosemary. Completely insert rosemary in holes. (You can go around the top-side of the lamb like a crown.) Season the lamb well with salt and pepper. Mix together the flour, chile powder and cumin and rub on the lamb. Coat the pot with oil and sear the lamb on 1 side until brown. Rotate the lamb so all sides get brown, about 15-20 minutes total. Remove the lamb and set aside on a plate. Gently wipe out the pot and place back on high heat. Coat again with oil and saute the garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, celery and season. Add bay leaves and deglaze with red wine. Add the chickpeas, honey and soy. Add back the lamb and water to cover. Check for flavor of the braising liquid and season accordingly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 3 to 4 hours, or until fork tender.
• Make the rice using Fuji technique and a rice cooker. Meanwhile, blanch the mint in salted water for 30 seconds and shock in ice water. In a blender, puree the mint with the honey, garlic and oil. Season and set aside. When rice is done, fluff with fork before serving.
• Plating: On a very large platter, make a large ring of rice. Drizzle the mint puree on the rice. Place lamb and vegetables in the middle. Pull out the rosemary 1/3 out to resemble a small crown. Serve family style with harissa on the side.

MOROCCAN LAMB WITH APRICOTS, ALMONDS & MINT

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Add the lamb and cook over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until evenly browned, stirring often. Remove the lamb to a plate, using a slotted spoon.
• Stir the onion and garlic into the casserole and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened. Return the lamb to the pot. Add the stock, zest and juice, cinnamon, honey and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 1 hour.
• Add the apricots and two-thirds of the mint and cook for 30 minutes until the lamb is tender. Stir in the ground almonds to thicken the sauce. Serve with the remaining mint and toasted almonds scattered over the top.

BRAISED MOROCCAN-STYLE LAMB WITH DRIED PRUNES, ALMONDS AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay the lamb out, skin side down, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and the thyme. Roll and tie well with butcher's string. Sprinkle the outside with 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large oven-proof casserole. Add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove lamb from pot. Add remaining tablespoon oil. Stir in onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon cumin, the rosemary and the red wine. Bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Return the lamb to the pot, cover, place in the oven and bake until meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and take out the meat. Remove the vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them in a blender. Blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture back into the pot and stir well. Place over medium heat and cook about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Return the meat to the sauce and surround with the almonds, prunes and apricots. Cover and bake until meat is very tender and fruit is soft, about 15 minutes.
• Remove lamb from the pot, cut and remove string and cut lamb into thin slices. If sauce is too thick, thin with a little additional broth. Divide the lamb among 8 plates and spoon some sauce over the top. Serve immediately, passing any remaining sauce separately.