Lamb Chops With Preserved Lemon Moroccan Style Recipes

LAMB TAGINE WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND OLIVES RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Remove the flesh (peel part) from the preserved lemons , and finely chop it. Mix it with the meat, onions, garlic, spices and half of the olive oil .
• Pour the other half of the olive oil into the bottom of a tagine, and add the lamb and onion mixture. The meat will be less likely to burn on the bottom if you place the meat bone- or fat-side down.
• Place the parsley and cilantro on top of the meat, add the water, and cover the tagine. Put the tagine over medium-low heat and wait patiently for the tagine to reach a simmer.
• Once the tagine reaches a simmer, allow it to cook undisturbed for about 2 hours. Use the lowest heat necessary to maintain the gentle simmer.
• After 2 hours, check the tagine. Add the preserved lemon peels and olives, and a little more water if you feel the liquids have reduced only to oils.
• Cover the tagine and continue cooking another hour or longer, or until the meat is very tender. Reduce the liquids if necessary, and serve the tagine with Moroccan bread for scooping up the meat and sauce.

MOROCCAN LAMB CHOPS WITH PRESERVED LEMON GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Rinse lamb and blot dry. Trim as much fat away from rack as possible. Slice between rib bones, all the way through, to yield eight chops per rack. Place in large container.
• Combine Ras el hanout, 2 TBSPs of garlic, minced cilantro and olive oil. You might need more olive oil in order to obtain a smooth slather. Toss lamb chops in mixture and allow to stand at room temp for an hour or so.
• Sprinkle coated lamb chops generously with salt and pepper. Grill over hot fire or broil to desired doneness, only a few minutes per side. When internal temp reaches 130 degrees F, they are medium.
• After removing from cooking source and still hot, sprinkle with lemon juice. (You might get the same result with adding the lemon juice to the marinade mixture before the lamb is cooked).
• Prepare gremolata topping on same day you are serving the lamb. Remove pulp from preserved lemons and discard, keeping the rind. Then thoroughly rinse in cold water and mince finely. Roughly chop parsley leaves. Combine preserved lemon, parsley leaves, and remaining tsp of minced garlic. Sprinkle over lamb chops before serving.
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• Preserved lemon: I usually start with about 5 lbs of organic lemons, juicing enough of them to yield about a cup. Go for organic ones, otherwise they have a coating of wax on them to preserve shelf life in the supermarket. You will need a glass jar with an air-tight seal. Combine ~ a tablespoon of coriander seed with ~ a tablespoon of fennel seed. Place 1 bay leaf and 1 cinnamon stick in the bottom of glass jar. Have a small bowl of Kosher salt nearby. Slice lemons in quarters ALMOST down to stem end, but leave intact. Place coriander and fennel seed inside lemon and also fill with salt. Place cut side down into glass jar, squeezing as many into the jar as you can. As you squeeze them, some of the lemon juice is released, but not enough to fill the jar. Just continue packing in as many lemons as you can and add additional salt between layers of lemon. Top off with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then refrigerate for a month before using. I think this is Jamie Oliver's technique, but there are many out there. He has also suggested doing this with other citrus, like limes and mandarin oranges. Meyer lemons work nicely. Some techniques suggest a layer of olive oil on top, and this works well, too. If refrigerated, they last indefinitely.