Kitchen Chick

Redux: Lamb & Prune Tagine

Per Melissa's request, here is the recipe for the Lamb & Prune Tagine that I talked about back in May. Those who think they don't like prunes may be pleasantly surprised with this dish.  (I was.)

This recipe comes from Kitty Morse's excellent Cooking at the Kasbah.

Tagine Bil Kok (aka Lamb and Prune Tagine)

2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
2 lb leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch chunks
2 onions, one finely diced and one finely sliced
1 cup chicken broth
8 threads saffron, toasted and crushed
15 fresh cilantro sprigs, tied with a cotton string
1 cup pitted prunes
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
1 Tbs unhulled sesame seeds, toasted

Heat the olive oil in a small dutch oven or enamaled casserole over medium-high heat. Saute the turmeric, ginger, and lamb until the meat is well coated and lightly browned -- 2 to 3 minutes. Finely dice one of the onions. Add it to the meat, along with the broth, saffron, and cilantro. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the meat is fork tender, about 1 to 1.5 hours. Discard the cilantro.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to an oven proof dish and keep warm until read to serve. Bring the sauce in the casserole back to a simmer.

Finly slice the remaining onion. Add it, along with the prunes, honey, cinnamon, and pepper to the simmering sauce. Season with salt. cook until the mixture thickens somewhat, about 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon the prune sauce over the meat and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with warm bread.

The Chickpea Goddess cooks Tagine Bil Hummus

I've never been called a Chickpea Godess before. We were attending a friend's birthday party late Sunday night. It's a potluck. It's also Mother's Day, and the day was spent with our mothers eating dim sum and clothes shopping, which meant time for cooking was just out. But fortunately I had made a big batch of Chickpea and Carrot Stew on Friday, and time only improves the flavor. We arrive at the party to discover, like so many pot-luck parties, the majority of food items are sweets and chip-like items. The chickpea and carrot stew is devoured, and the question "who is the chickpea goddess?" floats on the air.

Well, I've had worse nicknames.

Tagine Bil Hummus
From The Vegetarian Table: North Africa by Kitty Morse

1/4 C. vegetable oil
1 Lg.onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
12 fresh cilantro sprigs, minced
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cayenne
3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch diagonal slices
2 15oz cans of chick peas. Reserve the liquid.
1/2 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste
1 Tbs. smen (spiced butter — optional)
Minced fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat oil over medium-high heat and cook the onion until tender (6-8 minutes). Stir occasionally. Add garlic, cilantro, turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne, carrots, and reserved liquid from the chickpeas. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender (10-15) minutes. Add chickpeas, pepper, salt, and optional smen. Heat through. Before serving, garnish with cilantro.

Kitchen Chick's Extensive Extra Notes Gleamed from Years of Experience: :-)

1) Salt is necessary for bringing out the flavor.

2) I use extra virgin olive oil for the oil.

3) I often add a bit more black pepper and garlic than called for.

4) The flavor will be diluted if there's too much liquid, so don't add all of the chickpea liquid to start with. Maybe start with half the amount. You may need to cook it longer than the 10-15 minutes to concentrate the flavor. I take the cover off at this point to let the liquid evaporate. This also helps with the next item...

5) I like to let the carrots caramelize a bit during this extra cooking time to add some sweetness to the flavor. It's better to caramelize them before adding the chickpeas. If they stick to the pan and burn a bit too much, they will unstick when you add the chickpeas. If necessary, add a bit of left over chickpea liquid or water. (If you try to caramelize them after adding the chickpeas, the chickpeas get quite mushy and there's no "sauce". But it still tastes good.) If time is short or the carrots and chickpeas are getting too mushy, a touch of sugar can be used instead.

6) A small bit of butter and a few sprinkles of oregano can substitute for the smen.

For the complete North African meal experience, serve it with couscous and harrisa. Have you had harrisa before? Dried new mexico chilies, de-seeded, soaked and pureed with garlic, olive oil, and spices. I will have to post a recipe. It's a common North African condiment, and it is a fabulous bread spread. Goes well with hummus too.

Lamb & Prune Tagine

Years ago I cooked Chinese food for dinner almost every single night and I love it so much that I couldn't imagine cooking anything else.  These days North African seems to be my passion.  This wonderful tagine comes from Kitty Morse's Cooking at the Kasbah.I'm posting away from home, so I don't have the recipe handy, but enjoy the pictures.

The lamb has been cubed and is ready to stew, with onions, broth, cilantro, and spices...

After stewing for 1.5 to 2 hours, the lamb is removed.  The sauce is cooked down and the prunes added to cook for a few minutes.  Add the lamb back in, stir to coat with sauce, then serve sprinkled with sesame seeds and a crusty bread or couscous.  There would have been crusty bread in this picture, but Joe spotted the remains of a loaf and ate it.  (grumble)

Update: I've since posted the recipe.