Moroccan Lamb with Couscous



Picture courtesy of franceinlondon.com

If anyone reading this is planning on buying my affections with a Christmas gift I would suggest that a Tagine would be very much appreciated in my household!!
It's just one of those things I've never gotten around to buying but I've wanted one 'like forever'!
So this Moroccan Lamb is missing the word 'tagine' at the end because it was cooked in a casserole dish in the oven. I have no idea if it would taste different if it was cooked in a tagine, but it sure would look more spectacular when being served to the table.

Regardless of serving dishes, this Moroccan lamb is such a warming, satisfying and aromatic dish that how it’s served will become irrelevant fairly quickly!

Note: Some people seal and brown the lamb by tossing in flour and then frying, however, as I don’t like to use flour in dishes where I don’t expect it, I never toss my meat in flour. I do however brown it in a pan, just without the flour. So, it’s a purely personal decision.

Note 2: This is best made the day before you plan on serving it so the spices can infuse the dish, and then cook at the lowest setting on your cooker for about 2/3 hours before serving.


Ingredients:

Serves 8

1.5lbs/680g  tender lamb, cubed
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 medium aubergine, cubed
1 medium courgette, cubed
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 400g tins coconut milk
1 pint stock (bouillon or fresh stock)
150g apricots, chopped in bite size pieces
Rock salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil
Handful of chopped coriander – for garnish


Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and fry the onions until sizzling but not brown.
Add the garlic and fry for 20 seconds, just to release it’s flavour.
Remove from the pan and add to the casserole dish.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the cubed lamb, toss in pan, browning on all sides and remove to casserole dish.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil and gently fry the aubergine and courgette for 2/3 minutes.
Remove to casserole dish.
Add the spices to the pan and allow to cook for about 30 seconds on medium heat, this releases their aromatic flavour.
Deglaze the pan with the stock and pour this over the ingredients in the casserole dish.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and apricots to the casserole, cover with the lid.
If assembling the day before serving, you can make it to this point and refrigerate it.
Otherwise, place in preheated oven at the lowest setting for 2/3 hours.
If you don’t have the time you can cook it at 180⁰C/350⁰F/Gas 4 for 45 minutes.
Serve, family-style, and garnish with fresh coriander.


This dish is great served with rice, but I love to serve it with couscous, which is traditionally known as a North African grain. I love it’s simplicity and  short cooking time.
Most couscous you buy now in your local supermarket will only take 6-8 minutes to cook.
TIP: Use stock or bouillon instead of water to add to the couscous as this gives it a wonderful flavour that you cannot get with just water.


For my Moroccan lamb I add 1 large handful of soaked raisins (soak in boiling water for 10 minutes) once the couscous is cooked. The sweetness adds another depth to the north African spices in the lamb and complements it beautifully.

Enjoy!