Tag: North African
Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine with Prunes
Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine with Prunes
Lamb shanks are absolutely one of my favorite cuts. Cooking them in a tagine is a perfect way to get the meat to fall of the bone while requiring little added liquid. This recipe is a traditional Moroccan way of preparation, using preserved lemon, cumin, saffron, prunes, and almonds. To help speed up the cooking process, have your butcher cut your shanks into 3 pieces instead of leaving them whole. Serve the lamb shanks with couscous.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 preserved lemon finely chopped
- 4 lamb shanks cut into 3 pieces
- 1 tsp saffron mixed with 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup dried prunes
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
- Melt the ghee in a tagine over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 10 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, cumin, turmeric, and preserved lemon. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the lamb shanks. Brown on all sides for 8 minutes.
- Pour in the saffron. Add in the prunes. Season with salt.
- Place the cover on the tagine. Put in a 275 degree preheated oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.
- Sprinkle the parsley and almonds on top of the lamb shanks.
Batata Bel Kamoun
Batata Bel Kamoun
Batata bel kamoun is a Tunisian meat and potato stew cooked in a tagine. Large chunks of chuck roast are browned and simmered with garlic, cumin, harissa, and potatoes until the meat is fall apart tender. This dish can be cooked in a pot on the stove top if you don’t own a tagine. Serve the meat and potato stew with crusty Italian bread to sop up the sauce.
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs chuck roast cut into cubes
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp harissa
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in the tagine over medium heat. Brown the beef on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Add in the garlic. Pour in a 1/2 cup of water.
- Place the cover on the tagine and simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, harissa, salt and pepper. Add in the potatoes, making sure they’re covered in the sauce.
- Place the cover back on and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Moroccan Offal Kebabs
Moroccan Offal Kebabs
Skewers of grilled organ meat are a common Moroccan street food. Typically you’ll see skewers of heart, kidney, and liver; beef or lamb; marinated with paprika, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Sometimes the each organ will be on it’s own skewer; sometimes they’re combined. Since the organ meats are fairly lean, pieces of fat trimmed from the kidneys are put in between each cube of meat on the skewer. This adds some flavor, adding to the richness of the offal.
Equipment
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs heart, kidney, and liver beef or lamb; trimmed; cut into cubes
- kidney fat
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the organ meat for an hour.
- Skewer the organs in this particular order: heart, fat, liver, fat, kidney, fat, heart, fat, liver, fat, kidney.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the kebabs on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil for 10-12 minutes in total; turning every 2-3 minutes to ensure even cooking. Alternatively, you can grill the kebabs the same way over grey charcoal.
