Slow-braised Moroccan lamb shoulder with prunes, honey, almonds, and ras el hanout — sweet, deep, sticky.
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.
Serves 6
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.
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.
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.
Return lamb and any juices to the pot. Add cinnamon stick, salt, pepper, water, and the bunch of herbs. Bring to a gentle simmer.
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.
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.
Transfer the lamb to a warm serving tagine or platter. Spoon the prunes and their syrup over the top.
Scatter generously with toasted sesame seeds, fried golden almonds, and an extra dusting of cinnamon.
Bring to the table with hot khobz (Moroccan flatbread) for tearing and scooping — no cutlery needed, traditionally.
Use lamb shoulder on the bone — the marrow enriches the sauce dramatically.
Bloom saffron in hot water 5 minutes before adding; raw saffron is harsh.
Don't skip the orange-flower water in the prune syrup — it's the Moroccan signature.
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.
Refrigerate up to 4 days; freezes well 2 months. Tagines deepen overnight — reheat gently, never microwave.
Lamb-with-prunes tagines have been served at Moroccan celebrations since at least the 15th century, when prunes became a status ingredient on the imperial Marrakech court table. The sweet-savoury technique was likely borrowed from earlier Persian cuisine via the Arab-Andalusian trade routes.
No — any heavy-bottomed Dutch oven works. The conical lid of a tagine pot helps moisture circulate but isn't essential.
The prunes are sweet but balanced by the savoury lamb and ras el hanout. If you find it too sweet, halve the honey.
Per serving (420g) · 6 servings total
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