The Traveling Tajine Project: Take Two
I wrote previously about this neat project, where a different person gets a cooking tajine for each month this year (thanks Garrett!). We just have to cook with it and write about our experiences. So last time, I made a basic Chicken Tajine for the Oven. This time around, I wanted to adapt a lamb tajine recipe that I had developed for my cookbook, Hands-Off Cooking: Low-Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People
Because my cookbook recipes are intended for little to no supervision, the only issue was how to brown the meat and not use a separate pan. What I worked out was that I preheated the tajine bottom in the oven for 10 minutes with the oil. Then I spread the cubed lamb in a single layer on the tajine and left it to brown for about 7 minutes. After that, I simply poured the remaining ingredients on top and covered it with the lid. Forty-five minutes later, we were eating fragrant, delicious lamb over couscous.
My recipe is below, rewritten for the oven. The tajine will soon be on its way to the next participant, Jackie of Cherry Soup. Stay tuned to her blog in February for her tajining results!
Lamb Tajine for the Oven
adapted from Hands-Off Cooking: Low-Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People (Wiley, 2007), by Ann Martin Rolke
Hands Off: 1 hour
Tajine is a Moroccan stew named for the pot in which it’s traditionally cooked, and the many varieties of this dish are characterized by a sweet and sour flavor. Look for lamb stew meat or have your butcher cube a boneless shoulder or leg. This is wonderful over hot rice or couscous. Look for chopped dates to cut your prep time a bit.
Serves 4 to 6
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds cubed lamb
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
One 10-ounce bag frozen pearl onions or fresh pearl onions, peeled
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint, divided
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Large pinch of saffron
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees f.
2. Pour the oil into the bottom of a tajine pot and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper, add to the pot in a single layer, and leave it to brown for 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the chickpeas, onions, dates, cilantro, half of the mint, the orange zest, 1 teaspoon salt, the vinegar, cinnamon, and saffron in a bowl. Pour them on top of the lamb. Pour in the orange juice and water and stir to combine everything well.
4. Cover the pot and bake for 45 minutes, or until the lamb is very tender. Serve immediately, over rice or couscous, garnished with the remaining mint and the toasted almonds.