A Taste of Morocco
Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Fennel and Honey
Morocco’s beauty and mystique cannot be adequately captured on one page. The cuisine, like everything else in Moroccan culture, engages all your senses—the aromas, the colors, the sizzle of roast lamb as it emerges from an underground clay oven, the textures of couscous and olives, and the multiple types of salads served with every meal. And, of course, the taste. Each Moroccan chef has their own version of tagine, meat or vegetables braised for hours in spices, and accented with delicacies like plump apricots, prunes or preserved lemons. Tagine is more than the sum of its parts--the blend of spices, meat, and fruit that combine into a hearty, satisfying dinner. I ate tagine every day of my visit to Morocco. My first tagines were of beef and chicken cooked to order at a highway rest stop. There was a tagine of lamb meatballs in the courtyard of a riad in Fes. In Marrakech, I tried the traditional meal served to new mothers, a tagine of chicken, lentils, and homemade noodles. Each tagine had its own flavor profile, and all of them were delicious.
Back in the U.S., I have been searching for a tagine recipe that I could make at home and found this one in a Middle Eastern cookbook that my daughter gave me for my birthday. It features lamb shanks cooked in the oven until they are falling off the bone, served over brown butter couscous. This is a recipe that takes some time and requires a visit to the international aisle at the grocery store. But it’s worth it.
4 lamb shanks
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium carrots, finely diced
1 large fennel bulb, finely diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon harissa
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Large pinch of good-quality saffron threads
Pinch of ground cinnamon
4 cups chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon honey
¾ cup whole dried apricots
1 ½ tablespoons chopped preserved lemon rind
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Season the lamb shanks liberally with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy, ovenproof pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the lamb shanks and sear until they are golden brown all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a plate and set aside; do not turn off the heat.
- Add the carrots, onion, and fennel to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, harissa, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, saffron, and cinnamon, and cook for a minute or two, until the spices are very fragrant. Return the lamb to the pot and add the stock and honey. Cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven and stir in the apricots and preserved lemon. Then, replace the lid and return the pot to the oven for another 30 minutes. The lamb should be falling off the bone (if not, return it to the oven and cook it until it does!). Serve the lamb with the couscous and top with a sprinkle of cilantro.
Brown Butter Couscous
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups couscous
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups of boiling water or chicken stock
In a medium pot, cook the butter over medium heat until it turns brown and begins to smell nutty, around 5 minutes. Add the couscous, salt, and cinnamon, and mix thoroughly, making sure to incorporate all the browned bits of butter from the bottom of the pan. Add the boiling water or stock, stir, and remove from the heat. Cover the pot and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.