Lamb, spices and apricots cook together slowly to make this simple tagine. Quick to prepare and full of flavour, let the oven do the work this Easter!
I love a good lamb tagine…in fact, it’s probably one of my favourite meals! I’ve already shared my Lamb, Aubergine and Chickpea Tagine – but that was back in October. So I thought it was high time for another!
I have recently been inspired to use apricots in my lamb tagines…firstly when I was reviewing Sabrina Ghayour’s Persiana and then when I was reviewing my tagine kit from the spicery. I had previously been a bit wary of using apricots in a lamb tagine, but I was pleasantly surprised – they really work. The long slow cooking with the lamb reduces the sweetness of the apricots and that little touch of sweetness works so well with the lamb – yum!
This recipe is very much a cross between Sabrina Ghayour’s recipe and The Spicery’s recipe. I like to think I’ve picked out the best bits of both recipes.
As I’ve mentioned before, I much prefer to cook my tagines in the oven – I prefer the texture of the lamb and I feel more able to leave it alone and get on with other things, but you can do this on the hob if you prefer…just make sure you turn your pan down as low as it can go and keep an eye on the tagine to make sure it doesn’t dry out (this won’t happen in the oven – or at least it’s never happened to me!)
I have made this in my new toy…my Waitrose Kitchen Cast Iron Casserole Dish. (Sadly, no longer available but you can find very similar ones on Amazon.) It’s absolutely perfect for this type of hob to oven cooking. When the tagine is ready to go in the oven, just put the lid on and pop it straight in the oven.
Even better, it’s beautiful enough to use to serve from too. But if you haven’t got one, you can either use a saucepan that is ovenproof or transfer the tagine from your saucepan to an ovenproof dish and give it an extra 5 minutes cooking time (to allow the dish to warm up).
This tagine is perfect with plain couscous, jewelled couscous, basmati rice, Persian rice or flatbreads. If you are feeling the need for some veggies, serve this with a simple salad of chopped cucumber, tomatoes and red onion. Dress the salad with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and scatter with pomegranate seeds and a sprinkling of sumac, if you happen to have any.
Wine-wise, this would go brilliantly with a red from the Côtes du Roussillon, Rioja or Ribera del Duero.
Lamb and Apricot Tagine
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika optional
- 1 teaspoon turmeric optional
- 3 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- 3 cm ginger grated
- 800 g lamb neck fillet cut into 2cm chunks
- 12 dried apricots
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes plus half a can of water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Couscous flatbreads or basmati rice to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
- Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large ovenproof saucepan or cast iron casserole dish. Add the sliced onion and cook on a gentle heat, with the lid on, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown.
- Add the ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and turmeric. Stir well and cook for 1 more minute with the lid off. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
- Add the grated garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for a further minute, before adding in the lamb chunks. Stir well to coat the meat in the onions and spices and then add the salt, apricots and chopped tomatoes, plus about half a can of water (200ml / 7floz).
- Bring the tagine to the boil and then put the lid on and put in your preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Serve with couscous, flatbreads or basmati rice and a simple salad if you fancy it.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Want more delicious lamb recipes? Find more here…
Want more Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes? Find more here…
Fancy trying something new for Easter? Why not check out my other easy alternatives to traditional Easter lamb?
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Midge says
This looks lovely! I am a big fan of combining fruit & savoury in food, def going to have to try this! I love my cast iron casserole dish too and use it for just about everything including making popcorn!
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Midge! I am not always that keen on combining fruit and savoury food, it depends what it is but sometimes I find it too sweet. I was really pleasantly surprised by this combination though – it really works! The apricots lose some of their sweetness and the sweetness that is left just complements the lamb perfectly – I shouldn’t be surprised though really. It’s such a classic combination! I am totally in love with my cast iron pan at the moment. Like you, I am making just about everything in it at the moment – I’ll probably be trying to make salads in it come the summer 😉 Eb x
jenny paulin says
i am not a fan of lamb sadly, but even so this does look very nice and i can imagine the meat was very tender after all that cooking x
Eb Gargano says
Oooh – I reckon this tagine could convert you 🙂 I always thought lamb was a bit ‘meh’ until I started slow cooking it! It’s like a completely different animal (pun totally intended!) and soooo tender – really melt in your mouth tender. But if I haven’t convinced you, you could always make this with chicken thighs, instead. They work really well with the long slow cooking / melt in your mouth thing too. Thanks for your kind comments. Eb x
Honest Mum says
Obsessed with tagines here too, yours looks delicious and love your profile pic you stunner. Thanks for linking up to #Tastytuesdays
Eb Gargano says
They are so fab, aren’t they? Aw, thank you Vicki! That’s so kind 🙂 Eb x
Martin @ The Why Chef says
I recently broke my tagine! :'( It was made in Morocco and everything! Makes me sad, as this is one of my favourite ever dinners! I usually use ras-el-hanout in mine, so I’d like to give your spice mix a go 🙂 I cook my lamb neck in the spices sous vide for a few days, then finish it off with all the veg in the tagine in the oven for an hour. Just need to buy a new tagine and schedule this recipe in for dinner!
Eb Gargano says
Nooo! I’m sorry to hear that, Martin. You’ll just have to go to Morocco and get a new one 🙂 I don’t own one, I’ve always done tagines in a saucepan or casserole dish. I do quite fancy one though – it would look fab in the photos! I wonder how much it would affect the taste? Perhaps I should do a side-by-side comparison!
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Oh wow this looks so good! I still do not have a tagine, I need to get a large one to feed us all and so far I have only seen small ones. This looks like a truly delicious dish x #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
I don’t own a tagine, either – I find a large casserole dish works fine. I’d love to know if there is a difference, though – must try cooking in a tagine one day and see what it’s like! Thanks for your lovely comments 🙂 Eb x
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
A perfect Easter meal, thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Hayley 🙂 Eb x
Michelle says
I love combining meat with fruits in my cooking. The lamb and apricot in a tagine sounds heavenly. Pinned!
Eb Gargano says
It’s something that’s growing on me. The lamb and apricots work really well together – I was concerned the apricots might be too sweet but was pleasantly surprised – they complimented the lamb perfectly. Thanks for pinning! Eb
Corina Blum says
Ooooh yummy! I love apricots in a tagine but my husband doesn’t which is actually great because I get to pick them all out and put them in my portion! Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – brilliant strategy!! Sadly, my hubby likes apricots too 🙁 Even my kids do!!! Eb x
Mel says
I love a tagine: there’s not too much prep, the food is guaranteed to be full of flavours and generally, everyone loves it 🙂 Love your new cast iron casserole! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
They are the best – the ultimate in easy peasy cooking. I love anything where you can chuck in a few ordinary ingredients into a big pot…shove it in the oven and forget it for a few hours and then out pops something amazing a few hours later – Yay!! My cast iron pots are some of my favourite equipment in my house – you can go from stove to oven to table with them (so less washing up) AND they always look beautiful for the photos…I have 3 now…and would buy more but my husband has banned me due to lack of cupboard space!! Eb x
Lisa says
After reading through I don’t know how many tagine recipes I settled on this one, I had everything in, easy, quick, flavours I like, and I’ve always found the recipes reliable. It’s just gone into the oven and so far it’s delivered everything I wanted, quick, easy and the smell and taste are wonderful! I’m pretty confident it’s going to be delicious and a regular meal. I’m going to make a couple of flat breads and some rice to accompany it.
Eb Gargano says
Thank you for this lovely feedback, Lisa! I am so pleased that you picked my recipe and that you like it so much you think it’ll be a regular recipe in your house – that makes me very happy! Eb 🙂
Pavlina Bex says
Made it tonight for my family (plus added 1tsp of Ras el hanout) and it was absolutely amazing! I’ll def do again, perhaps try with chicken this time! Thank you!! 👏🏻👏🏻
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear this 😀
Melodie says
I bought 1/2 a lamb and with 10 people for dinner I thought I would at long last thaw the leg and shoulder and make a tahini. Your recipe sounds just what I wanted but would this mix of meat work instead of just fillet?
Eb Gargano says
Yes – it will absolutely work, but you will almost certainly want to cook it longer to ensure the shoulder meat is tender. When I cook shoulder this way, I typically cook it for at least 2 hours, usually 2 and a half hours. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Althea says
Love the sound of this. Could it be made in the slow cooker? If so, for how long?
Eb Gargano says
Thank you! I have never tried this in a slow cooker, but it should work well. I would go for 4-6h on high or 6-8h on low. Enjoy!
Cindy Hill says
I’ve made your recipe for Lamb Tagine on a few occasions now & its always a winner with the family, I’m back to making another one for our evening meal as it’s a good winter dish & delicious with Couscous or Basmati Rice. I would like to mention that after a holiday spent in Marrocco this year Tagine’s are always on the Menu’s but served in the actual Tagine with potatoes & the Lamb is usually made with Shanks that allow the meat to fall off the bone! Delicious. But your recipe is still a family favourite👍
Eb Gargano says
Great to hear how much you like this recipe! And great to hear about your trip to Morocco. I’ll be the first to admit this is a simplified version of a lamb tagine – to make it more ‘do-able’ for the busy home cook – who may not have a lot of time or access to an actual tagine etc. My aim on this website is to take the ‘essence’ of a dish and re-work it to make it quicker/easier to make and less faff, while still maintaining as much of the flavour as possible. My motto is minimum effort, maximum flavour!