Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine With Apricots

This succulent and incredibly flavourful Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine is a combination of lamb, apricots, squash, and exotic spices. It is traditionally cooked in an earthenware pot called "tagine" which is designed to retain the steam while cooking.

If you don’t have a tagine pot you can still enjoy this healthy Moroccan lamb stew by using a Dutch oven or a slow cooker. This melt-in-the-mouth North African dish is extremely easy to make, don't let the long list of ingredients put you off.

Tangy&sweet apricots add a touch of sweetness to this cozy winter casserole. Warm spices such as cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, and ginger combined with tender lamb build up a lovely depth of flavor.

This Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine With Apricots and squash is the perfect comfort food for winter!

What is Tagine (Tajine)?

Tagine or Tajine is a large, earthenware pot with a dome-shaped lid designed to trap steam and return moisture to the dish as it slowly cooks over hot coals.

Same as güveç, tagines have been used for centuries as the perfect dish to use for slow cooking. Tagine is also the name of the dishes cooked in these clay pots.

These dishes are slow-cooked casseroles made with lamb, chicken, or beef and vegetables combined with fruits, herbs, and warm spices. You can cook a tagine dish in a Dutch oven, a slow cooker, or the Instant Pot and they would still taste delicious.

However, you might need to adjust the length of cooking time and the amount of liquid.

Why This Recipe Works?

• This Lamb Tagine recipe is extremely easy to make. It takes a few minutes to gather your ingredients!

• Same as my other stew recipes such as Bamya - Turkish Okra Stew and Güveç (Turkish Lamb Casserole), this lamb tagine tastes better after a day or two.

• The leftovers freeze beautifully. You can double the recipe and keep the extra portions in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

Best Cut of Lamb for Tagine

Well-exercised muscles rich in collagen such as the shank, shin, or shoulder are the typical cuts of meat for the Tagine dish. They have around 20% fat and they are the cut of lamb with the most flavor.

The lamb shoulder is my favorite cut of meat and I use it for my other lamb recipes such as Tavë Kosi (Elbasan Tava), Guvec (Turkish Lamb Casserole), and Sac Kavurma (Turkish Lamb Sauté). Alternatively, you can use neck as it's also flavorful and contains a good amount of fat to break down and keep the meat moist.

• Apricots - They add a touch of sweetness that works great together with the lamb. You can also use dates, prunes, or raisins.

• Squash - Choose a ripened squash to get the best flavor and taste. They should be in a beige color, without any deep cuts or bruises. Make sure it feels heavy for its size and doesn't have any green spots. If you don't feel confident with peeling and cutting it, you can buy diced butternut squash. You can substitute it with pumpkin.

• Tomatoes - Canned tomatoes work great with this recipe.

• Stock - I prefer using Chicken Stock but Beef Stock or Vegetable Stock works great as well. You can use stock cubes if you don't have any stock in hand. Make sure you don't add too much salt as ready-made stocks and stock cubes contain salt already.

• Spices - I use a mixture of warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cumin, paprika, coriander, and turmeric. You can customize your mixture to your preferences, and add some chili for a bit of heat.

• Almonds - I use flaked almonds to garnish for a crunchy texture but pistachio nuts or chestnuts work great too.

How to Make Slow-Cooked Lamb Tagine?

This Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine With Apricots recipe is an extremely delicious and warming dish that is very easy to cook.

There are a few easy steps that you need to follow to achieve the best results:

Place a Dutch oven or an oven-proof large pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the diced lamb and sauté them until browned on all sides. Do it in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. 

Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until slightly softened, and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for a minute and stir continuously to avoid it burning.

Stir in the ground ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cumin, coriander powder, salt, cinnamon stick, paprika, and cloves, and cook for a few seconds.

Add the tinned tomatoes, and give them a good stir until all are combined.

Pour in the stock, stir well, put a lid on, and bring it to a boil.

At this stage, you could either lower the heat and carry on simmering the stew on the stove or place it in a preheated oven to 160° C (320° F) for 45 minutes.

45 minutes later, add the squash, apricots, lemon juice, honey, and chopped coriander leaves.

Stir until all combined and cook for another 60 minutes until the lamb is fork tender.

Remove the cinnamon stick, garnish, and serve your tagine with fresh coriander leaves and flaked almonds.

Top Tips From the Chef

• This dish is originally cooked in a tagine dish. However, a Dutch oven, a slow cooker, or a casserole with a tight lid will substitute it perfectly.

• Use a cut of lamb with at least %20 fat content. Lean meat will have a big impact on both the texture of the meat and the sauce. So stick with the shoulder, neck, shank, or shin for the best results.

• Sear the lamb before adding the other ingredients as it has a huge impact on the flavor. Make sure your Dutch oven/pan is heated thoroughly before adding your lamb pieces.

• Lamb has enough fat for you to sauté your onions, you shouldn't need to add any extra oil to the dish.

What to Serve With Apricot Lamb Tagine?

Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine is traditionally served over couscous. I prefer serving this Moroccan stew with Bulgur Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Rice Pilaf), Lebanese Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli, or Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav).

You can also serve this melt-in-the-mouth stew with some flatbread such as Pakistani Roghni Naan, Turkish Pide Bread - Ramazan Pidesi, Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia, Guyanese Oil Roti, or Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious melt-in-the-mouth lamb stew dishes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious slow-cooked Lamb Tagine dish as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂

Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun! 

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