Tuesday 15 May 2012

Spicy Moroccan Lamb Stew


Spicy Moroccan Lamb Stew


This stew is essentially a Tagine, albeit without the fancy cooking pot. It takes very little fuss to prepare, a bit of chopping, the opening of some tins and a gentle bubbling in a pan for a few hours.  It all results in a meltingly tender lamb, fragrant, spicy and wonderful. 


The cut of lamb used is fairly important; it needs to have a bit of fat on it, so I use Lamb neck fillet.  The fat eventually melts after a long cooking, but too much fat is not good, so any large bits of fat need to be trimmed off. 
I use typical Moroccan spices to flavour the tagine, such as cumin, coriander, ginger and cinnamon, along with three spices - cayenne, chili flakes and the brilliant Pimenton de la Vera (Smoked Paprika) to give a hot smokey kick to the stew.  Leave out the chili flakes if you prefer a milder flavour.  



INGREDIENTS (Serves 2 plus leftovers):
2 Tablespoons oil
350g Lamb Neck Fillet, trimmed of unnecessary fat and diced into inch cubes

1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne
1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Flakes

1 large Red Onion, thickly sliced
1 large Carrot, peeled and cut into inch cubes
2 Fat Garlic Cloves squished
500ml Chicken Stock
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
1 Tin of cooked Chickpeas, washed and drained
Lemon Juice
Couscous to serve with the stew
Fresh Coriander chopped


  1. In a large pan, heat the oil until hot.  Add the trimmed and cubed lamb, and fry until browned all over.  
  2. Add in the spices (Cumin, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cayenne, Smoked Paprika and Chili Flakes) and stir the lamb so that the pieces are fully coated.  Continue to fry for 2 minutes.  
  3. Add in the squished garlic cloves, onions and carrots, turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  
  4. Add in the chicken stock, tomato puree and the tin of chopped tomatoes, stir and turn the heat down low.
  5. Cook for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more stock or water if the stew becomes too dry.
  6. About 20 minutes before you want to serve, add in a can of drained chickpeas. 
  7. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  
  8. Scatter with chopped fresh coriander and serve with a mound of fluffy couscous


14 comments:

  1. I was searching for a lamb stew (not Irish!) and this looks just perfect. I can't wait to try it - thanks for posting!

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  2. This looks amazing! Will be attempting to recreate it tomorrow :)

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  3. 23.2.13 I made this for tea tonight, it was absolutely delicious. It is tomato based and full of flavour. I will definately be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.

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  4. Great recipe. For us Americans, how much is "a tin"?

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  5. how large is a tin? how many ounces?

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    1. Hi all, Sorry for not getting back - a tin is about 400g. or i suppose about 6 or so medium tomatoes chopped.

      Hope this helps !!

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  6. I'm making this recipe right now and it smells wonderful. I was searching for a Moroccan lamb recipe I'd done previously when i happened upon your blog and really like the way your recipes are set out so thought I'd give it a whirl. Love your style. Will try another recipe soon.

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  7. Thanks so much for this easy and tasty recipe. It's cooking right now and is looking great. Really loved the simplicity of the ingredients as some of my family do not like the fruits often associate with a traditional .'tagine'

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  8. I've searched high and low for a lamb tagine recipe that I liked the look of, and this fits the bill perfectly.

    I'll be making it this coming Saturday in the tagine I got for Christmas - it's first ever use !!

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  9. Absolutely fantastic recipie, have tried a few of yours, keep posting.

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  10. Love this. Come back to it over and over. It's a favourite of our 4 year old. I like to throw in a couple of star anise to add an extra dimension to the flavour. Thanks for the recipe. :-)

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  11. very good this recipe to perfection I have no doubt is a very rich dish I love excellent very good blog is fabulous job this blog

    http://food.all-all.website/

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  12. Made this last night I replaced all the spices with 4tsp of Ras El Hanout it was absolutely yummy. Will definitely be making it again. Thanks for posting...

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