Lamb and Apricot Tajine
Lamb shoulder braised until it falls apart with ras el hanout, dried apricots and honey, finished with toasted almonds and sesame.
This is the sweet-savoury side of Moroccan cooking, and its balance is easy to get wrong in one direction: too much honey too early and the whole pot turns into pudding. The apricots go in for the last half hour only, by which point the lamb has had ninety minutes to give up its collagen, and the honey follows at the very end where you can taste as you go. Lamb shoulder is the cut for this; a lean leg will be dry no matter how long you cook it.
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How to make Lamb and Apricot Tajine
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
For the lamb
For the braise
To finish
Equipment
- Tajine or heavy lidded casserole
- Small dry frying pan
- Tongs
Method
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1
Season and brown
Pat the lamb dry and season it with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in the casserole over medium-high and brown the chunks in three batches, 4-5 minutes a batch, until each has a dark crust. Move them to a plate as they are done.
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2
Cook the onions
Lower the heat to medium and add the onions to the same pot with a pinch of salt, scraping up the browned bits. Cook 10 minutes until soft and golden, then stir in the garlic and ginger for a further minute.
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3
Toast the spices
Add the ras el hanout, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric and stir for 45 seconds until fragrant. Dry spices need contact with hot fat to release properly, but they scorch quickly, so keep the spoon moving.
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4
Braise
Return the lamb with any resting juices, add the saffron with its soaking water, the stock and the tomatoes. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lamb yields completely to a spoon.
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5
Add the apricots
Stir in the apricots, re-cover and cook 30 minutes more. They will plump and soften while thickening the sauce naturally with their pectin.
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6
Toast the nuts
Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until golden, then the sesame seeds for about 1 minute. Watch both closely; they go from pale to burnt in seconds.
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7
Balance and serve
Uncover, stir in the honey and lemon juice, and simmer 5-10 minutes to reduce to a glossy sauce. Taste and adjust: more honey for sweetness, more lemon for lift, more salt for depth. Scatter over the almonds, sesame and coriander and serve with couscous or flatbread.
Cook’s tips
- Buy shoulder, not leg. Shoulder is marbled and full of connective tissue that melts into gelatine over a long braise, which is exactly what gives this sauce its body.
- Brown in batches with space around each piece. It takes an extra ten minutes and it is the difference between a deep brown sauce and a pale, thin one.
- Add the honey only at the end. Sugar introduced early caramelises through the whole braise and pushes the dish towards dessert, which cannot be corrected later.
Variations
- Swap the apricots for pitted prunes and add a strip of orange peel to the braise.
- Add a can of drained chickpeas with the apricots to stretch it further.
- Use beef shin or bone-in lamb shanks instead, extending the braise to 2.5 hours.
Storage and make-ahead
Keeps for 4 days in the fridge and improves markedly after a night, as the spices settle and the sauce thickens. Freeze for up to 3 months without the nuts, and toast those fresh when you reheat. Warm through gently over low heat with a splash of stock.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 612 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 39 g |
| Carbohydrates | 34 g |
| Fat | 33 g |
| Fibre | 6 g |
| Sugar | 23 g |
| Sodium | 780 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
