Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Slow-braised lamb shoulder with preserved lemons, green olives, fragrant ras el hanout, and sweet apricots over fluffy couscous.
🛒 Ingredients
- 1.5kg bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp ras el hanout spice blend
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 400ml chicken stock
- 200g dried apricots
- 100g green olives
- 2 preserved lemons, quartered
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- large bunch fresh cilantro
- 2 cups couscous
- 2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
👨🍳 Method
- 1
Rub lamb with ras el hanout, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper. Marinate overnight if possible.
- 2
Brown lamb in batches in a heavy casserole or tagine with olive oil. Set aside.
- 3
Sauté onions in the same pot for 10 minutes until golden. Add garlic, cook 2 more minutes.
- 4
Return lamb, add stock, apricots, and half the preserved lemon. Bring to boil.
- 5
Cover tightly and simmer on very low heat for 1.5-2 hours until lamb is falling off the bone.
- 6
Add chickpeas and olives in the last 20 minutes.
- 7
Prepare couscous per package instructions. Fluff with a fork.
- 8
Garnish with cilantro, remaining preserved lemon, and toasted almonds.
💡 Chef's Tips
- →Brown the meat in small batches — crowding steams instead of sears.
- →A genuine tagine pot creates the best steam circulation, but a Dutch oven works well.
- →This tastes even better the next day.
More Moroccan Recipes
Chicken Bastilla
Morocco's show-stopping pie of flaky warqa pastry encasing spiced chicken with eggs, toasted almonds, and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Sweet and savory magic.
Harira — Moroccan Tomato Lentil Soup
The comforting soup that breaks the Ramadan fast: chickpeas, lentils, tender lamb, and tomatoes in a spiced, silky broth thickened with flour and finished with lemon.
Mechoui Slow-Roasted Lamb
A whole leg of lamb rubbed with a cumin-coriander-butter paste and slow-roasted for hours until the meat falls from the bone with barely a touch.