Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds

Well, I can't tell you how nice it is having all of our stuff under the same roof for the first time in almost four years. Among our things is the tagine, a North African cooking vessel whose name is often used interchangeably with the types of dishes cooked within it.

The conical shape of the tagine allows the aromatic steam to be contained within the cooking vessel, and as it condenses, it drips back down onto the food, reintroducing the flavor to the food being cooked. Pretty interesting and often very tasty.

This dish, without the prunes, would have been somewhat average. But WITH the prunes, it brought it to a whole new level. That fruity burst was magic with the richness of the lamb and the spices. I served this with a simple couscous which I put some almonds, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon zest into with a splash of olive oil. I topped it with some parsley, a few more almonds and sesame seeds.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 kg shoulder of lamb on the bone, cut into 6 pieces
50 g butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 beef tomato, sliced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon RAS-EL-HANOUT
½ teaspoon saffron strands
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 small bunch coriander
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 large cinnamon stick, halved
250 g dried prunes
40 g blanched almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons lightly toasted sesame seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Trim the excess fat from the pieces of lamb and season them well. Heat the oil in a large tagine or flameproof casserole, add the lamb pieces and brown lightly all over. Lift the meat out onto a plate, add the butter and the onions and cook, stirring, until they are soft and lightly browned.

Overlap the slices of tomato on top of the onions, followed by the pieces of lamb. Mix the ginger, ras el hanout, saffron and turmeric with 100 ml water and drizzle the mixture all over the lamb. Push the bunches of cilantro and parsley and the cinnamon stick into the centre of the meat, season once more lightly with salt and pepper, and pour over enough water to almost cover the meat - about another 500 ml. Cover and leave to cook over a gentle heat for 1 1/4 hours until the lamb is tender. Remove the herbs.

Meanwhile, remove the stones from the prunes and replace them with some of the toasted blanched almonds. After the lamb has been cooking for 1 1/2 hours, uncover and skim away the excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Put the prunes in among the pieces of meat and leave to simmer a little more vigorously, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes or so until the meat is almost falling off the bone, the prunes are tender and the sauce is reduced and concentrated in flavor.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Scatter the tagine with the remaining toasted almonds and the sesame seeds and serve immediately.