Mouth-melting lamb tagine recipe to die for! The exotic flavours and aromas will take your mind to an unforgettable culinary trip to Middle East, where recipes are being developed for centuries.
Many tagine recipes use tinned tomatoes for the sauce. Those of you who read my blog regularly may have noticed that I always use a blend of fresh tomatoes together with concentrated paste. I find the tinned tomatoes “too much”, too sweet and can ruin my meal.
So, invest in some juicy ripe tomatoes, even if they are a bit expensive where you live. It actually brings the dish to life.
It’s a great casserole meal for a Sunday, where you have more time to devote to cooking. It does actually take some time to cook but when it’s in oven, you can relax with a glass of wine or two.
Taking about spices and Middle East, I totally recommend to watch “A Touch of Spice”. It’s a great movie with lovely music about the role and philosophy of spices in our life. Well, it’s actually more than that.
- 850 gr (~ 2 lb) diced lamb from the neck or shoulder.
- 1 onion chopped.
- 3 carrots sliced.
- 2 zucchini.
- 1 teaspoon turmeric.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- 1 tablespoon paprika.
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds crashed.
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped.
- 3-4 ripe tomatoes.
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- A small bunch of fresh coriander chopped for dressing.
- ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil.
- 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Add the olive oil in a large frying pan and warm it up on medium heat. Add the lamb pieces together with the spices (turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, coriander seeds and cayenne pepper), season with salt and cook until the meat starts getting brown.
- Add the onion and garlic, give it a good stir and cook for ~ 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 170 degrees Celsius (340 F).
- Chop the tomatoes and use the blender to create a smooth paste.
- Dilute the concentrated tomato paste in 2 cups of hot water.
- Transfer the meat from the pan to a casserole dish. Add the tomatoes from the blender and the diluted tomato paste. Close the lid and let it cook for 1 hour.
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise in half and then slice it making sure that the pieces are not too thin.
- Add the carrots and zucchini in the casserole, give it a stir and let it cook for another hour. Add some water if needed.
