Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Prunes

About This Recipe

Lamb tagine with prunes and almonds — l'ham lahlou — is one of the most beloved tagines of Moroccan home cooking, eaten especially at Eid and weddings. Lamb shoulder is browned and simmered in a conical earthenware tagine pot with onions, saffron, cinnamon, ginger, and ras el hanout until the meat is falling apart. Then a sticky, glossy compote of prunes simmered in honey, orange-flower water, and toasted sesame seeds is spooned over the top, and the whole dish is showered with blanched almonds and a final dusting of cinnamon. Sweet-savoury at its most refined — the kind of dish that defines the Maghrebi table.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.3 kglamb shoulder, bone-in, cut into 6 cm chunks
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2 largeonions, finely sliced
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 thumbginger, grated
• 1 tbspras el hanout
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 pinchsaffron threads, bloomed in 3 tbsp hot water
• 1 stickcinnamon
• 1.5 tspfine salt
• 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 500 mlwater or light stock
• 1 small bunchfresh cilantro and parsley, tied together
• 350 gpitted soft prunes (Agen if possible)
• 3 tbsphoney
• 1 tbsporange-flower water
• 1 tspground cinnamon (for prune syrup)
• 2 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
• 120 gblanched almonds, lightly fried in oil until golden
• extra cinnamon for dusting
• warm Moroccan bread (khobz) to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the lamb

   Pat lamb dry. Heat olive oil in a heavy tagine or Dutch oven over medium-high. Brown the lamb in batches, deeply, on all sides — about 12 minutes total. Remove.

2. 2

   Soften the onions

   Lower the heat to medium-low. Add sliced onions to the same pot with a pinch of salt. Cook 10 minutes, scraping the pan, until soft and lightly golden.

3. 3

   Bloom the spices

   Add garlic and grated ginger. Cook 1 minute. Add ras el hanout, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and bloomed saffron with its water. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. 4

   Build the braise

   Return lamb and any juices to the pot. Add cinnamon stick, salt, pepper, water, and the bunch of herbs. Bring to a gentle simmer.

5. 5

   Slow-cook

   Cover and cook on the lowest heat (or in a 150°C oven) for 2 hours, stirring once or twice, until the lamb is meltingly tender and the sauce is reduced to a thick, glossy gravy. Discard the herb bundle and cinnamon stick.

6. 6

   Make prune compote

   While the lamb finishes, place prunes in a wide pan with 250 ml water, honey, orange-flower water, and the teaspoon of cinnamon. Simmer 15 minutes until prunes are plump and the syrup is dark and sticky.

7. 7

   Layer the dish

   Transfer the lamb to a warm serving tagine or platter. Spoon the prunes and their syrup over the top.

8. 8

   Finish

   Scatter generously with toasted sesame seeds, fried golden almonds, and an extra dusting of cinnamon.

9. 9

   Serve

   Bring to the table with hot khobz (Moroccan flatbread) for tearing and scooping — no cutlery needed, traditionally.

Variations

• •

  Replace prunes with dried apricots (mishmish) for the spring version.

• •

  Use chicken thighs instead of lamb (cook 45 minutes total).

• •

  Add 200 g caramelized onions on top in addition to the prunes — wedding-feast style.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days; freezes well 2 months. Tagines deepen overnight — reheat gently, never microwave.

Frequently Asked Questions