← Nouns Cooking · Moroccan

Ingredients

• 800 g lamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Ras el hanout
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g can)
• 500 ml chicken or lamb stock
• 2 Carrot, cut into chunks
• 150 g Dried apricots
• 1 can chickpeas (400 g can), drained
• 1 tsp Honey (optional)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 30 g Almonds, toasted (optional)

Method

1. Pat the lamb dry and season with the salt. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the lamb in two batches, 4–5 min per batch, until well coloured. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and cook for 6–8 min until soft. Stir in the garlic, ras el hanout, cumin and cinnamon stick and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Return the lamb with its juices, add the tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook gently for 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
4. Add the carrots, apricots and chickpeas. Cover again and simmer for 40 min, until the lamb is very tender and the sauce has thickened. Uncover for the last 10 min if it looks thin.
5. Taste, stir in the honey if you want it a little sweeter, and remove the cinnamon stick. Scatter with coriander and toasted almonds.

Tips

• Ras el hanout varies a lot between brands; start with less and add more at the end if you like.
• Almonds are optional; leave them off for nut allergies.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Good Food