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Lamb Tagine with Dates (Tagine lahm Bil Beleh)
 Moderated by: Vargr, shadowcat-x, boojum
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 Posted: Tue May 13th, 2008 04:02 pm
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Vargr
Vargr


Joined: Tue Jun 7th, 2005
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
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A Tagine is a cooking vessel as well as a style of meal. It looks much like a wide, somewhat shallow skillet or pan, topped by a tall cone for a lid. The cone has an opening at its apex to allow steam to escape while some of the moisture and most of the flavorful oils condense on the conical sides to run back down and flavor the dish. For a lot more on the subject, check out http://www.tagines.com/

If you don't have a Tagine handy, this can be made just as easily in a large skillet or chef's pan. The version below is addapted to just such a cooking method. I've added a step to include a bit of cornstarch to thicken the result, but this might not be necessary if you can cook this in a "real" tagine. In addition, if cooking in a true tagine, you will likely wan to avoid the 'browning' steps, as the pottery-based tagines are more suited to "low and slow" cooking, and most do not tolerate the higher heats needed for searing and browning very well. For a true tagine, think of it as a stove-top "slow cooker", cook over lower heat and for longer times, and you'll be in the right ball-park.

This dish uses a mix of spices and other flavors somewhat unusual to American dishes.  The original version was slanted much more to just the sweet spices, but after tasting the result, this wuff decided it was a bit too one-dimensional.

A quick look on the web revealed that Moroccan cooking normally involved a much more ballanced array of savory and spicy flavors, s well as the sweet, and with a bit of experimenting, this wuffy came up with the spice mix below that seems to carry that off.

In keeping with the original version, this is still somewhat weighted to a sweet spectrum of flavors, but that complements well with the inclusion of dates in the original.

Though a bit exotic and unusual by American standards, this is actually a very easy dish to prepare, and if you can find the lamb on sale, not too expensive either.  Don't be afraid to try it out!

Note: You can substitute lean pork for the lamb, but the slight gamey flavor of lamb really improves the result in this wuff's opinion.

Lamb Tagine with Dates (Tagine lahm Bil Beleh)

2 lb Lamb (leg or shoulder) - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lg white onion - finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 T lime juice
2 T honey
6-10 pitted dates - coarsely chopped

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 T corn starch

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Garnish:
12 fresh dates
blanched almonds
fresh lime peel or preserved lemon
Lime Juice

In a large skillet, Melt 1 T butter with half the oil.  Gently cook the chopped onion until translucent.  Raise the heat, and add the lamb cubes.  Brown on all sides, but don't over-cook.

Lower heat, add water, spices, chopped dates, honey, lime juice.  Simmer gently at low heat for approx 1/2 hour.  Taste, and add salt and pepper as desired.  Mix corn starch in about 1/3 C of cold water to make a thin slurry.  Stir cornstarch mixture into skillet.

Continue to simmer until sauce thickens (about 15 minutes) and lamb is done but tender.

Add remaining butter (1 T) and oil to a small skillet.  Toast the almonds until 'blonde'.

Serve Tagine with a garnish of lime peel or preserved lemon, sprinkled with fresh dates and toasted almonds (or put them on the side).  Try adding a squirt of lime juice on the top after serving. The fresh citrus and acid helps 'cut' the richness, and adds a nice bright 'spark' to the flavor.

Pairs well with rice or couscous.  Serves 6.

 

Last edited on Tue May 13th, 2008 04:16 pm by Vargr



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