Moroccan Haloodies lamb tagine

Slow cooked perfection. A halal lamb tagine can be quite daunting to create but it’s surprisingly simple and cooks away in the oven, filling your house with the most incredible aromas! The key is marinating the halal lamb overnight in the spices!

Ingredients

2–3 tbsp Olive oil

1kg Haloodies lean diced lamb

2 large onions, sliced

3 celery sticks, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4cm (1½in) knob of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cinnamon

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

450ml (15fl oz)  Vegetable stock

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 tsp harissa paste

1 tbsp runny honey

8 ready-to-eat dried apricots, quartered

2 preserved lemons, sliced into 8 pieces and any pips removed (OR Grill a whole quartered lemon)

400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Directions 

Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.

 Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the cubes of lamb on all sides. Put to one side.
    
2. Add the onions and celery to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until starting to soften but not browned. Add the garlic and ginger, then sprinkle in the spices and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 10 seconds, add the tomatoes, stock, tomato purée, harissa paste, honey, apricots and preserved lemons. Bring to the boil, stirring, and then return the lamb and any juices to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender
    
3. Place the lamb in a tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve.
   
   (This is perfect with Couscous or mashed potato!)