Lamb tagine with prunes and dried apricots is one of the best-known dishes in Moroccan cuisine, along with pastilla sweet and sour or seafood pastilla. It is as popular as couscous or Moroccan Moroccan roast chicken. It’s an exceptional, festive dish. It’s a popular choice for both small and large occasions.
In Algeria, it is called tajine hlou or lahlou, which means sweet, and is very popular during
ramadan. This dish is lightly sweetened with prunes and dried apricots cooked with a little sugar and cinnamon.
For my part, I try to use good quality prunes like those from Agen and good dried apricots, which I cook without adding sugar and with just a little powdered cinnamon or cinnamon stick.
Which meat to choose for a prune and dried apricot tagine?
Table of Contents
It’s best made with leg or shoulder of lamb, which has more flavor and is a very tender, flavorful meat. Nevertheless, many people opt for veal or beef, which are less fatty.
Tagine is no less good if you respect the cooking time and the choice of meat. Choose pieces of veal shank or shoulder, which cook faster and are more tender.
You can garnish this “hlou” meat tagine with a mixture of prunes, dried apricots and toasted toasted blanched almonds or just prunes and almonds or dried apricots and almonds. You can also sprinkle the prunes with a few toasted sesame seeds.
We accompany this tagine with small Moroccan salads that are very easy to make, such as the grilled bell pepper and tomato salad, with eggplant zaalouk, carrots with chermoula, taktouka, potato, parsley and garlic salad etc…
Ingredients:
NB: You’ll find the printable recipe card at the end of the article, plus a few tips below.
For 6 /8 persons
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) of lamb meat, either shoulder or shank, or veal shank.
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon saffron pistils
- the tip of a teaspoon of cinnamon
- the tip of a knife of rancid butter (optional)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 small glasses of water
- 350 g (12.3 oz) prunes or half prunes and half dried apricots
- 100 g almonds (3.5 oz)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tablespoons sugar or honey optional
Preparation steps :
Cooking tagine
1. Mix all the spices with 3 tablespoons of water in a cul-de-poule and sear the pieces of meat on all sides.
2. Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven or pressure cooker (if you’re in a hurry) and bring to a simmer.
3. Brown the pieces of meat in the pan, turning from time to time so that the meat takes on a nice color.
4. Add the chopped onion and simmer for ten minutes before adding 2 small glasses of water.
5. Cover and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes or more, until the meat is tender.
6. Keep an eye on the sauce from time to time; if it runs out, add a little water.
7. Once the meat is cooked through and melting, let the sauce brown to leave just enough to serve. It should be smooth and creamy.
Cooking prunes, dried apricots and almonds
1. Wash prunes, cover with water in a saucepan, add cinnamon stick and cook over medium heat.
2. I don’t add sugar, I let it coat with its own sugar, but you can add a little honey or sugar to taste.
3. Do the same for the dried apricots in a second pan.
4. Cover almonds with water in a saucepan and boil for 2 min, more or less. Take an almond and see if rubbing it with your fingers will remove the skin easily.
5. Rinse in cold water and trim. Brown them in the preheated oven at 160°C for about fifteen minutes.
6. You can also brown them in an oil bath over low heat.
7. To serve, place the meat on a platter or divide between several plates. Spoon some of the hot, creamy sauce over the top and sides. Decorate with prunes, dried apricots and a few almonds. Serve immediately.
8. I hope you enjoy this recipe for a meat dish with prunes, dried apricots and almonds, and that it inspires you to make it yourself.
How do you cut the meat for this tagine?
You can cut the meat into small pieces, but it’s best to cut pieces weighing at least 150 g (5.3 oz) Baking keeps their shape and makes them more presentable. For ceremonies, the pieces of meat are much larger, up to 500 g (17.6 oz).
In the Moroccan tradition, whether you’re 5 or 12 people, you eat from the same plate. Nowadays, everyone is served on their own plate, so it’s essential to have small enough pieces of meat to serve easily.
If you really want to use parsley and coriander, they should be in bunches, not chopped. The meat tagine with prunes should have a smooth, honeyed sauce thanks to the juices of the meat and onion. The sauce should remain clear, with no trace of chopped herbs.
How to cook a good lamb tagine with prunes?
Slow cooking over low heat is my favorite. It reminds me of my grandmother, who used to bring out her big pot for big receptions, which could hold up to a sheep. For her, it was inconceivable to cook over an electric or gas fire, let alone use a pressure cooker, which was the lazy woman’s method.
She would get up early and cook the meat slowly over a wood or charcoal fire. The meat simmered slowly with very little sauce, which is the advantage of this type of cooking. The meat became super melting and tasty with a little creamy sauce.
Sometimes towards the end, she would place a few embers on the lid. The meat took on a beautiful golden color, as if it had just come out of the oven.
I’ve seen recipes for this dish with tomato and/or garlic, but the real sweet and savory lamb tagine with prunes doesn’t contain any and has no spices other than ginger, pepper, cinnamon and saffron.
This lamb tagine contains no parsley, coriander or other herbs. The tomato would bring acidity and a red color, whereas we want a golden yellow color. Garlic is not suitable, as its strong taste will overpower the flavor of the meat. It also doesn’t go well with the sweetness of dried fruit.
Lamb tagine with prunes and dried apricots
Ingredients :
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) of lamb meat, either shoulder or shank, or veal shank.
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon saffron pistils
- Tip of a teaspoon of cinnamon
- Tip of a knife of rancid butter optional
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 small glasses of water
- 350 g (12.3 oz) prunes or half prunes and half dried apricots
- 100 g almonds (3.5 oz)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tablespoons sugar or honey optional
Instructions :
Cooking tagine
- Mix all the spices with 3 tablespoons of water in a cul-de-poule and sear the pieces of meat on all sides.
- Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven or pressure cooker (if you're in a hurry) and bring to a simmer.
- Brown the pieces of meat in the pan, turning from time to time so that the meat takes on a nice color.
- Add the chopped onion and simmer for ten minutes before adding 2 small glasses of water.
- Cover and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes or more, until the meat is tender.
- Keep an eye on the sauce from time to time; if it runs out, add a little water.
- Once the meat is cooked through and melting, let the sauce brown to leave just enough to serve. It should be smooth and creamy.
Cooking prunes, dried apricots and almonds
- Wash prunes, cover with water in a saucepan, add cinnamon stick and cook over medium heat.
- I don't add sugar, I let it coat with its own sugar, but you can add a little honey or sugar to taste.
- Do the same for the dried apricots in a second pan.
- Cover almonds with water in a saucepan and boil for 2 minutes, more or less. Take an almond and see if rubbing it with your fingers will remove the skin easily.
- Rinse in cold water and trim. Brown them in the preheated oven at 160°C for about fifteen minutes.
- You can also brown them in an oil bath over low heat.
- To serve, place the meat on a platter or divide between several plates. Spoon some of the hot, creamy sauce over the top and sides. Decorate with prunes, dried apricots and a few almonds. Serve immediately.
- I hope you enjoy this recipe for a meat dish with prunes, dried apricots and almonds, and that it inspires you to make it yourself.
Thank you for visiting my blog and your comments.
You can also follow me on my youtube channel