Lamb Tagine {Easy Moroccan Style Stew}

6 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 2 tsp Olive oil
• 900 g Lamb pieces (Cut into 4cm pieces)
• 1 Onion (Peeled and finely chopped)
• 3 Garlic cloves (Peeled and crushed)
• 2 tsp Fresh ginger (Peeled and finely chopped)
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 3 tbsp Ras el hanout spice mix (See notes)
• 500 ml Lamb stock
• 500g Butternut squash (Peeled and cubed (or frozen))
• 400 g Chickpeas (Tinned, drained and rinsed)
• 2 tbsp Cornflour (if needed) (See notes)
• 25 g Flaked almonds
• 20 g Fresh mint (Finely chopped (Optional))

Method

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat half of the oil over a medium heat and brown the meat in batches, moving aside when browned.
2. Add the remaining oil to the empty pan and lower the heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, cumin and ras el hanout. Cook over the low heat for 10-15 minutes until everything turns sticky and fragrant.
3. Add back in the meat and stock, put a lid on and continue cooking over a low heat for about 1.5-2 hours until the meat is almost totally softened.
4. Add in the butternut squash and drained chickpeas and cook for a further 30 minutes with the lid on. (If, when the squash is cooked, you’d like your sauce to be a little thicker, make a slurry with the cornflour and a little of the sauce, then stir it back into the tagine and cook for just a few minutes to thicken.)
5. Give everything a good stir, check the meat is very soft and serve sprinkled with almonds and mint.
6. Fry your lamb on the hob to brown (unless you have a slow cooker you can sear in, in which case, do it in this), then add all of your ingredients, except the chickpeas, and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours or LOW for 6-8 depending on which suits your timings best.
7. Pop the chickpeas in about an hour before the end.
8. Preheat your oven to 180℃ fan/200℃/Gas Mark 6/350F.
9. Follow all of the steps as outlined in the hob method above, but rather than simmering on the hob, cook the tagine in the oven for around 2 hours or until the meat is very soft.