Tagine-Style Lamb Stew

By John Willoughby

Tagine-Style Lamb Stew
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
5(1,685)
Comments
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Traveling in Morocco 30-some years ago, I had eaten tagines — stews distinguished by being cooked in the pot of the same name — that I did not recall as involving any browning.

This method is described as “starting the tagine cold.” It involves heating the lamb gently along with spices and other aromatics, allowing the flavors to fully penetrate the meat. At that point it is covered and cooked until tender.

When I tried the “cold start” approach, substituting a low heating of the lamb with aromatics and a little butter for the usual hard sear in olive oil, it worked like (well, kind of like) magic. The overall flavor of the dish was less robust than one that began with browning, but it was equally flavorful, in a gentler way.

Featured in: Deep Flavor, No Browning Required

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 2pounds lamb shoulder
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1small onion, grated (about ⅓ cup)
  • 4cloves garlic, minced
  • 1teaspoon black pepper
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼cup apricot preserves
  • ⅓cup red wine vinegar
  • 120-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2cups chicken stock
  • ¼cup raisins
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2tablespoons lemon juice
  • Cooked couscous, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

531 calories; 30 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 631 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Trim excess fat from the lamb and cut into 1-inch cubes.

  2. Step 2

    In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the lamb, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, apricot preserves and vinegar and cook, stirring frequently, until the aroma of the spices is strong, about 5 to 7 minutes. (Do not allow the meat to brown.)

  3. Step 3

    Add chickpeas and stock, bring just to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently until the lamb is very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add the raisins and continue to cook, uncovered, until they are nicely plumped, about 10 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and lemon juice, and serve with couscous.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,685 user ratings
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Comments

Conibral

Great recipe but 1.5 hours is no where near enough time to make the lamb tender enough to create "ohs and ahs". We had a Saturday night party - I cooked the lamb for 2 hours on a low boiling simmer on Friday night and let cool overnight. I put the dish (uncovered) in a 200 degree oven for 10 hours on Saturday. One probably doesn't need to cook it that long, but I will say that it was the most tender lamb I've ever had. I'd definitely make it again, and cook it low and slow for a few hours.

Nina V

Another way to serve this delicious lamb stew is over rice served the Lebanese way: break up a bit of angel hair pasta into little pieces and saute in butter until they turn brown, add rice and saute a bit and then add water and proceed cooking. It's delicious served with stews.

Anthony

Used olive oil for the butter, diced dried apricots instead of preserves, added a cup of green lentils and an extra cup of chicken stock. Transcendant!

Laminal

I see some people complaining this was watery. Just mush up some of the chickpeas with the back of a spoon and they will thicken the sauce right up.

Laminal

I made this with beef because I didn’t have lamb but otherwise followed the recipe. I cooked it in a Dutch oven at 270 in the oven for 3 hours. It was outrageously delicious. Thank you!

Jen B

totally amazing, was worried the vinegar was too much but mellowed totally - used some of the comments and added carrots and also some dried figs, which were beautiful in it. took some liquid and make a roux with some flour to thicken it a bit after about 3 hours, and simmered for 4 hours total, was tender and beautiful. made over pureed celeriac instead of cous cous which had a very sophisticated flavor profile.

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