Lamb Olive And Caramelised Onion Tagine Recipes

LAMB, OLIVE AND CARAMELISED ONION TAGINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150C/300 degrees F.
• Put all of the ingredients into a casserole or heavy based pan, pouring in the wine last and giving everything a good stir.
• Bring the pan to a boil, then clamp on the lid and put into the oven for 2 hours or until the lamb is very tender.

LAMB TAGINE WITH APRICOTS, OLIVES AND BUTTERED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim excess fat off lamb. Put meat in a deep Dutch oven or cast-iron pot with the garlic, salt, black pepper, paprika, ginger and cumin. Rub spices and garlic evenly all over meat.
• Thinly slice onions, then mince enough of them to yield 1/2 cup. Add minced onion to pot with lamb; reserve onion slices.
• Place pot over high heat and let cook, turning meat on all sides, until spices release their scent, about 3 minutes. You need not brown meat. Add 3 cups water to pot (it should come 3/4 of the way up lamb), along with cinnamon and saffron. Bring to a simmer, then cover pot and transfer to oven. Let braise for 45 minutes.
• Turn meat, then top with onion slices. Cover pot and braise for another 45 minutes to an hour, or until lamb is very tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer meat to a bowl, leaving broth and onions in pot.
• Place pot on stove over high heat and add 3/4 cup apricots and the olives. Simmer broth until it reduces by a third and thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Return lamb to pot and keep warm until serving. (Tagine can be prepared 4 days ahead; chill, then remove fat and reheat before serving.)
• To serve, chop remaining 1/2 cup apricot slices. In a small skillet, melt butter. Add almonds and cook until well browned and toasted, about 2 minutes. Put couscous in a serving bowl and top with almonds and butter and chopped apricots. Pile tagine in center of couscous and garnish with herbs.

TAGINE OF LAMB WITH CARAMELIZED BABY ONIONS AND QUINCES

Steps:

• Follow the recipe for Tagine of Lamb with Caramelized Baby Onions and Pears (page 106) but instead of the pears, use 3 quinces, weighing about 2 pounds. Quinces are now available for several months, starting in the fall, as they are imported from various countries, which have different seasons.
• Wash and scrub the quinces. Boil them whole for about 1 hour, or until they feel soft. The time varies greatly depending on their size and degree of ripeness, so watch them and do not let them fall apart. Drain them and, when cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters, then cut away the cores but do not peel them.
• In a large skillet, sauté the quarters in a little sunflower oil until the cut sides are brown. This gives them a delicious caramelized flavor. Alternatively, for a honeyed version, sauté the quinces in a mixture of 1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted with 1 tablespoon sunflower oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons clear honey. You may also add 3/4 cup walnut halves, which gives a wonderful contrast of texture.
• Put the quinces-caramelized or honeyed-in the pan with the meat, skin side down, and cook until they are soft but, again, watch them so that they do not fall apart. If there is not enough room, lift out the meat and put in the fruits, returning the meat to heat through before serving. Serve hot, with the quinces, skin side up, on top of the meat.

LAMB TAGINE WITH GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Make the spice mixture by stirring together the spices in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large, ovenproof stew pot or tagine, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pot and stir to coat in the oil. Brown for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the meat browns evenly on all sides. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set it aside.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the onion, stirring to coat. Sauté for about a minute, until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and add the meat back to the pot. Stir everything together. Squeeze the orange juice into the pot and mix well. Add the tomatoes, orange peel, spice mixture, chicken broth and honey. Mix well. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 1 hour or until the meat is about half-cooked.
• Stir in the carrots and celery and return the pot to the oven. Cook for another 30 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is thick and reduced and the lamb is tender.
• While the tagine is in the oven, toast the almonds and the sesame seeds in a small pan over low heat until the nuts are golden, about 5 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure the almonds don't burn.
• About 15 minutes before the tagine is finished, make the citrus rice: Put the rice and 2 cups of water in a large pot set over high heat. Add the bay leaf, lemon zest, salt, red-pepper flakes and butter. When the water boils, lower the heat and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Continue to simmer until the liquid has been absorbed, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice, orange pieces and scallions and mix well. Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately.
• Remove the garlic clove and orange peel from the tagine. Add the olives and spoon the tagine onto a large serving plate. Sprinkle the almonds and sesame seeds on top. Serve immediately, with citrus rice.

TAGINE OF LAMB WITH CARAMELIZED BABY ONIONS AND PEARS

Steps:

• Cut the meat into 6 or 8 pieces, and put it into a wide pan with 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat; turn to brown the pieces all over. Add the chopped onion and barely cover with water. Stir in salt and pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and saffron, and simmer, covered, over a low heat for 1 1/2 hours, turning the pieces over a few times.
• To peel the onions or shallots, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes and, when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the roots. Sauté them in a skillet in 2 tablespoons oil over a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan, until the onions have slightly colored. Then add them to the meat and cook for a further 30 minutes, until the meat is very tender and the baby onions are so soft that, as they say in Morocco, "you can crush them with your tongue." Toward the end of the cooking time, cook uncovered to reduce the sauce. There should be only a small amount of liquid remaining.
• Wash the pears. Quarter and core them but do not peel them. Sauté them in a large skillet in a mixture of butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat until their cut sides are slightly brown and caramelized. If they have not softened right through (that depends on their size and degree of ripeness), put them into the pan over the meat, skin side up, and continue to cook, covered, until they are very tender. It could be 15 minutes, but you must watch them as they can quickly fall apart.
• Serve the meat with the pears, arranged skin side up, on top.
• variations
• Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of clear honey when you put in the pears, and adjust the seasoning so that there is enough salt and plenty of pepper to mitigate the sweetness.
• Add 1/2 cup blanched almonds to the meat at the start. They will soften during the cooking.
• Instead of pears, sharp green apples, such as Granny Smiths, may be used.
• Use veal instead of lamb.