Lamb Tagine With Apricots, Olives and Buttered Almonds

"This was in the New York Times last week and I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my list."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 20mins
Ingredients:
16
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim excess fat off lamb. Put meat in a deep Dutch oven or cast-iron pot with the garlic, salt, black pepper, paprika, ginger and cumin. Rub spices and garlic evenly all over meat.
  • Thinly slice onions, then mince enough of them to yield 1/2 cup. Add minced onion to pot with lamb; reserve onion slices.
  • Place pot over high heat and let cook, turning meat on all sides, until spices release their scent, about 3 minutes. You need not brown meat. Add 3 cups water to pot (it should come 3/4 of the way up lamb), along with cinnamon and saffron. Bring to a simmer, then cover pot and transfer to oven. Let braise for 45 minutes.
  • Turn meat, then top with onion slices. Cover pot and braise for another 45 minutes to an hour, or until lamb is very tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer meat to a bowl, leaving broth and onions in pot.
  • Place pot on stove over high heat and add 3/4 cup apricots and the olives. Simmer broth until it reduces by a third and thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Return lamb to pot and keep warm until serving. (Tagine can be prepared 4 days ahead; chill, then remove fat and reheat before serving.).
  • To serve, chop remaining 1/2 cup apricot slices. In a small skillet, melt butter. Add almonds and cook until well browned and toasted, about 2 minutes. Put couscous in a serving bowl and top with almonds and butter and chopped apricots. Pile tagine in center of couscous and garnish with herbs.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl at heart, and I've only recently started forcing myself to eat vegetables -- I suppose that's what happens when you are raised to believe that a meal isn't really a meal unless you're eating meat! My passion for food started with my parents -- since food is such a focus of Filipino culture, anything was an excuse for cooking a large meal and inviting friends or family over. Cooking, on the other hand, is something I've only recently started enjoying -- I love having adventures in different parts of the world, and when I can't do that, I love having adventures in the kitchen. So I experiment a lot with new recipes and I'm always in search of the perfect version of something. I moved up to NYC a couple of years ago for work, and it's been heaven. The food in this city is fantastic, and I especially enjoy going out into Queens for ethnic dining. I work at a union full of burly guys who love to eat, so it's nice to be in like-minded company -- the granola vegans at my last non-profit job just didn't understand. I'm taking ceramics classes and I travel widely -- my next trip is to Egypt, Jordan and Jerusalem in the fall.
 
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