Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Lamb Tagine with Apricots
One of my all time favorite ingredients has to be lemon, and one of the most intriguing ways of adding that flavor is with preserved lemons, a north African pickle. You can buy preserved lemons online from one of my favorite websites Kalustyans or you can make them yourself. It takes about five minutes. I will include more recipes that use preserved lemon in the future, but for now, try this tagine, it is SO simple, and heavenly. A tagine, by the way, is a typical Moroccan earthenware cooking vessel, that is also the name of the dish prepared in it. Enjoy!
2 pounds diced lamb, trimmed of most of its fat
1 tsp each: pepper, ground cumin, cinnamon, coriander and ginger
pinch of tumeric or saffron
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups beef stock
2 large brown onions, peeled and sliced
2 large carrots, peels and chopped into large pieces
1 can chick peas, drained
1 preserved lemon, chopped
10 dried apricots, halved
10 prunes, halved (optional)
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
Cilantro, mint and toasted almonds for garnish
Put the lamb into a bowl. Add the onions, pepper, ground cumin, cinnamon, coriander ginger saffron and salt. Stir to coat the meat well. Cover and leave to marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 F
Heat a large, heavy frying pan. Add the lamb in batches and brown evenly. Transfer to a heavy casserole along with the rest of the ingredients, seal the lid with foil, and cook for 2 ½ hours.
Serve over steamed couscous with mint, cilantro and almonds as garnish
Serves six
* * *
PRESERVED LEMONS
8 lemons
1/2 cup kosher salt
Fresh lemon juice
Scrub the lemons well. Cut into quarters from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom, taking care to leave the 4 pieces joined at the stem end.
Sprinkle the insides of the lemon with some of the salt.
Place 1 tablespoon of salt on the bottom of a 1-quart jar and loosely pack in the lemons, layering with salt as you go. Add extra lemon juice almost to the top of the jar. Seal the jar and let the lemons sit at room temperature for 1 month, turning the jar upside down periodically to distribute the salt and juices.
To use the lemons, remove from the brine and discard the pulp. Wash the peel before using. Some white crystals will form on the top of the lemons in the jar, which is normal. They can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 1 year.
Adapted from Joanne Weir "Weir Cooking in the City"
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Supperclub is a restaurant/art gallery/space to check out if you are looking for something TOTALLY out there, and are going to (or already are in) Holland!
Supperclub is a restaurant/art gallery/space to check out if you are looking for something TOTALLY out there, and are going to (or already are in) Holland!
Read more about it here http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,1299998,00.html
or visit them online at http://www.supperclub.nl
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