Tagine of lamb with prunes and couscous

A beautifully balanced sweet and savoury dish served with couscous, inspired by Guillaume’s visit to Agen, the prune capital of France.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 70 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 kg boneless lamb leg, cut into 3 cm dice
• 1 brown onion, cut into 1 cm dice
• 1 carrot, cut into 1 cm dice
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1 cm dice
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 3 tomatoes, cut into 3 cm dice
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 pinch saffron thread
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp ras el hanout
• 1.5 litres chicken stock
• 2 turnips, cut into ½ cm dice
• 600 g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into ½ cm dice
• 100 g prunes
• 350 g couscous
• ½ cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Place a large braising dish or tagine over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and when shimmering, add the lamb and cook for about 5 minutes, turning until golden all over. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or until lightly coloured.
2. Add the tomato paste, honey and saffron and stir for 1 minute. Add the cinnamon and ras el hanout and stir for 2 -3 minutes or until fragrant. Add 1 litre of stock, stirring the base to remove any cooked-on pieces. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 ½ hours.
3. Add the turnip, pumpkin and prunes and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the lamb and vegetables are tender and falling apart.
4. For the couscous, place the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Bring the remaining stock to the boil, pour over the couscous, stir to combine well, then cover with a piece of plastic wrap and stand for 10 minutes. Pour over the remaining 1½ tablespoons olive oil, fluff the couscous with a fork and season with sea salt.
5. To serve, spoon the couscous into serving bowls, spoon over the lamb tagine and scatter with coriander.

Photography by Blink TV. Styling by Blink TV. Food preparation by Guillaume Brahimi.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.