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September 11, 2005
Moroccan meals
I've been getting plenty of use out of the ras el hanout that I made fairly recently and it is particularly good with lamb. Of course, being in New Zealand, there's no shortage of the baa-ing beast although, as the Boyfriend told a former vegetarian friend after one such dinner, we only eat the ugly ones!
A little while ago I was cooking dinner - which I decided should have a Moroccan flavour - for some members of the Boyfriend's family. Desert, in the form of Greg Malouf's Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding with Turkish Delight, was decided on first so all that remained was to figure out a complementary main course for eight people beforehand. I decided on two dishes - a vegetarian (albeit Greek) Spanakopita and my slow cooked Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Ral Al Hanout, with a large bowlful of Couscous with Toasted Nuts served alongside.
Most of this menu can be prepared ahead which is always a huge advantage when people are coming round for dinner and you have a small kitchen. The Boyfriend and I made the Spanakopita and Bread and Butter Pudding in the morning, putting them aside to be cooked at the last minute. About two hours before guests were due I got the Moroccan Lamb Tagine into the oven. As always, there were plenty of things to be done at the last minute but, with all hands on deck, nothing got out of hand and we managed to feed everybody - eventually!
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Stewing lamb - 500g, in rough chunks
Olive oil - 2 tablespoon
Onions - 2, large
Garlic cloves - 2, large
Lemon - ½
Chopped tinned tomatoes - 2 tins
Fresh thyme - a few sprigs
Ras el hanout - 2 teaspoons
Apricots - 50g
Cooked chickpeas - 400g (or use black-eyed beans or haricots)
Spinach leaves - 1 packet, thoroughly washed, dried and chopped
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
Using a very hot pan and the olive oil, brown the lamb chunks in batches. As they cook, put them into your ovenproof dish and squeeze the half lemon over. Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the onions and garlic, season them with salt and pepper and stir over a moderate heat so that they cook without burning.
Add to the ovenproof dish with the tomatoes, thyme, Ras Al Hanout, apricots and chickpeas. Cook at 190°C/375°F for an hour and a half until lamb is tender. For the last ten minutes of the cooking time add the chopped spinach to the dish along with seasonings.
Serve with rice or couscous.
Posted by Caroline at September 11, 2005 7:23 PM
Comments
Caroline, those sound great! And I somehow missed the b & b pudding recipe before - it looks, well you know how it looks! Amazing! Three of my favourite things all together!
I have a book called Modern Morroccan which I've been telling myself I will start to cook from - it's utterly gorgeous and I think I've made one recipe from it in over a year. Maybe two.
You have inspired me and I shall (hopefully) go forth and get into it!!
Posted by: plum at September 13, 2005 12:09 AM
Plum: Moroccan food is SO good and it's not at all difficult. It's easy to get your hands on Ras Al Hanout in shops if you don't feel like making it yourself but it's a great store cupboard standby - I'm love it mixed with couscous as well as in the Lamb Tagine. And that B&B pudding...well worth spending a bit of time on! Glad to hear that I've inspired you!
Posted by: Caroline at September 13, 2005 10:37 AM
I make the Chickpea soup from the Greg Malouf Arabesque cookbook. It is the only recipe in the book I have made but I'm now inspired to take it off the shelf and do something.
Posted by: Barbara at September 13, 2005 11:59 AM
I really liked the layout of Arabesque - I always enjoy reading through an A-to-Z of ingredients - and there are plenty of mouth-watering recipes in that book as well as one for Ras Al Hanout, if you're looking at making your own blend! I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Greg and Lucy Malouf's new book. The last update from the publishers said that it was called Saha - Food and Travels Through Lebanon and Syria and I think it's out in the next month or so.
Posted by: Caroline at September 13, 2005 8:47 PM
