Lamb Tagine with preserved lemons,
almonds and apricots
North African food is packed full of fantastic flavours and textures - I love it!
Tagines normally take a while to cook if using a normal pan, but with a
pressure cooker things are much easier. If you don’t fancy using carrots
then a couple of potatoes or sweet potatoes will work really well too.
Serves 4
Trim the excess fat off the lamb and cut into 2 inch/4cm pieces. Place them
in a bowl. In a pestle and mortar, grind the cumin, coriander and pepper
with a good pinch of salt. Sprinkle over the lamb with the paprika, ginger,
saffron, chopped garlic, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil.
Heat the base of the pressure cooker and add another splash of olive oil.
Add the sliced onion and chilli and sweat gently for 5 minutes.
Put the lamb in the pot and add the carrots, tomatoes and the water. Push
the almonds inside the apricots and add them to the pot. Pick half the
leaves off the bunches of mint and parsley, tie the stalks together and
throw them in the pot too. Cut the preserved lemons in half, scoop out
the pulp inside and this to the pot with the cinnamon stick. Discard the
lemon skins.
Clamp the lid on the pressure cooker and turn the steam setting to ‘meat’.
When the cooker is up to pressure, turn the heat down to medium and
cook for 25 minutes. Release the steam and remove the lid.
Taste, add a little salt and pepper if necessary, scatter with chopped mint
and parsley and serve with lots of fluffy steamed couscous.
9
•
1kg/2lb 3 oz lamb neck fillet
•
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
•
4 teaspoons coriander seeds
•
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
•
sea salt
•
2 teaspoons
•
smoked paprika
•
1 teaspoon ground ginger
•
1 pinch of saffron (optional)
•
3 cloves of garlic,
finely chopped
•
juice of 1 lemon
•
olive oil
•
2 small red onions, finely sliced
•
3 red chillies, deseeded
and chopped
•
2 big carrots, peeled and cut
into 1 inch/2cm lengths
•
1 x 400g/14oz can of good-
quality plum tomatoes
•
400ml/14fl oz water
•
50g/1
3
/4oz blanched almonds
•
12 dried apricots
•
1 small bunch of fresh mint,
leaves picked
•
1 small bunch of fresh parsley,
leaves picked
•
2 preserved lemons
•
1 cinnamon stick
