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Lamb Tagine

I made this Tagine for Brayden, Christina, Charlie and Deanna for their help in painting my living room. My biggest regret is that I didn't take a picture of the polished lamb shank bones left over in the bowls. They were literally sucked clean. Charlie even figured out that you can separate the two bones and use one to scoop out the marrow - the healthiest part of the meal!These are spices I always keep on hand and you should too! I didn't have the dried apricots so I picked twice as many fresh figs and threw them in the pot as I removed the lid. They were amazing, I plan to try this with beef shanks next.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time10 hours 30 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive
  • 1 ts cumin ground
  • 1 ts corriander ground
  • 1 ts smoked paprika
  • 1 ts cinnamon I like Indonesian cinnamon for this
  • 1/2 ts Pepper freshly ground
  • 1/2 ts Ginger ground
  • 1/4 ts cayenne pepper
  • 4 lamb shanks
  • 2 onions med diced
  • 3 Garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • saffron threads optional
  • 1 14oz tomatoes crushed or chopped
  • 2 cups Chicken stock
  • 1 ts Honey
  • 1/4 cup dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • parsley or cilatantro for garnish - chopped

Instructions

  • mix one tablespoon olive oil and 2 ts salt, the cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, turmeric and cayenne in a large bowl. Add the shanks and massage the seasonings into the shanks. Put them into a large bowl, cover and leave in the fridge from 8 - 24 hours.
  • Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the lamb shanks in a single layer so they are well browned on all sides. 10-15 minutes.
  • PReheat oven to 325F
  • Remove shanks and reduce heat to medium and add the onions, garlic, and bay leaf; season with salt. Cook stirring up the brown bits, until the onions are soft and translucent, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the saffron. Add the tomatoes, and their liquid, stock, honey and shanks and bring to a boil.
  • Cover the pot and place it in the oven to cook for two hours. turning the shanks and adding half the apricots and raisins at hour one. After two hours remove the lid and add the remaining apricots and raisins. Continue to cook, turning over the shanks midway, until the sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and serve over rice, couscous or quinoa. Surround the shanks with the dried fruit and sprinkle with parsley.

Notes

Recipe straight from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz