Lamb Tagine

Hello everyone! I'm getting settled back in to my normal brand of ADD/craziness/identity crisis here at DIY and Live to Tell. Thank you all for the cool comments on my Oaxaca posts. I know they had really nothing to do with DIY or projects, but it was still fun to share with you.

Now that I am back in the swing of things, I have more food to share with you. I made a special meal last night because my Mom's really good friend Chris is in town, visiting from Perth, Australia. She sometimes reads my blog, so 'Hi, Chris!' It was so good to see her. So I made lamb tagine over brown rice, with asparagus, and cookies for dessert (I will share that recipe in a later post, but I will share it!).

This lamb tagine recipe is adapted from a traditional Moroccan recipe, and it is Paleo friendly. If you want to go full AIP, you will need to leave out the cayenne pepper and tomato paste, but I still think it would be very good. The recipe also has a very long list of ingredients, but since it is mostly spices, don't let it deter you. It is well worth it!

For those of you who are hesitant about lamb... trust me on this one. This recipe marinates overnight, sears it then slow cooks it, and I'm not kidding... it cuts with a fork. And there is no game-y taste because of all the spices. You will love it. Trust me.

So the first thing I do is mix all the spices together in a ziplock bag. Then sniff it. I'm not joking. Stick your nose in there and inhale. You will be very happy you did this. The smell is wonderful.

I bought this lamb as a shoulder roast and had the butcher at my local grocery store de-bone and cut it into pieces for me. Way easier than doing it myself. :)

I drizzle a little olive oil over the lamb, toss it, and then put the lamb in the bag with the spices. Then I toss it well to combine it, and literally massage the spices into the meat. Just knead away at it until you are sure that you have the spice combo in every nook and cranny of the meat. Then put it in the fridge and let it marinate overnight.l

The next day, when you are ready to cook your meal, you want to take the marinated meat and brown it
in a little olive oil over medium-high heat. It should only take a couple of minutes. You are just searing it, and will slow cook it in a few minutes.

I don't have a traditional tagine oven, so I use my dutch oven for this and it works great. Yes, the spices and olive oil will make a dark coating on the bottom of the pan, but don't panic... this will all come up as you slow-cook it and mix in wonderfully to the sauce. I promise.

When the lamb is seared, remove it to a plate and set aside.

Add the onions and carrots and saute for a couple of minutes. You will notice the spices off the bottom of the pan start to mix in.

Add in the garlic, ginger, meat, chicken broth, zest, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, put a lid on it, and simmer for another two hours. Stir it occasionally.

If you want to thicken the broth, use a little arrowroot powder.

I served mine over brown rice, with asparagus (a little sea salt, a little olive oil, under the broiler), and some really fantastic Franciscan Estate Meritage wine. So yummy!

Lamb Tagine:

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
2-3 lbs lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
3 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp Turmeric
3/4 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (leave out if AIP)
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/8 tsp (or just shy of 1/2 tsp) Ground Cloves
3/4 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1 large pinch of Saffron
1 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1 1/4 tsp Ground Coriander
2 medium onions, diced
7 carrots, peeled, cut into strips
5 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh grated Ginger
1 lemon, zested
14 oz of Chicken Broth (one can, or I used my homemade broth)
1 1/2 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomato Paste (omit if AIP)
1 1/2 Tbsp Honey

Directions:
Place diced lamb in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil. Set aside. In a large, resealable bag (I use ziplock), toss the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander together. Add the lamb to the bag and toss well to combine. Then massage the spices into the meat through the bag until you know they are in there. Really in there. Then refrigerate overnight.

Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 the lamb and brown well, then remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger and continue cooking another five minutes or so. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The meat should be very tender.