Lamb and Chickpea Tagine
Photo: José Picayo; Styling: Beverley Hyde
Serve this hearty Moroccan-inspired stew over hot cooked couscous.
How to Make It
Step 1
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add lamb; sauté 4 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove lamb with a slotted spoon. Add onion, salt, pepper, and cumin to pan; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return lamb to pan; stir in tomato paste and honey. Cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth, raisins, and chickpeas; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 50 minutes or until lamb is tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with pistachios and cilantro.
Step 2
Wine note: You don't want your food to be sweeter than your wine. What to do, then, with a honeyed tagine? Go for a wine with deep fruit that seems sweet even if it isn't—a zinfandel full of jammy, spicy blackberries, plums, pepper, chocolate, and even raisins: Rodney Strong 2007 "Knotty Vines" Zin (Sonoma County, $22). —Sara Schneider
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SingingGourmand's Review
This one blew away my guests - they praised every bite! I happened to have a little lamb stock in the freezer (never throw away bones!) that I mixed with homemade chicken stock to come up with the right amount of liquid. I also covered the Dutch oven for most of the cooking time. I was worried the lamb would be tough, but it was perfect. I served it with pistachio couscous (add chopped pistachios and lemon zest to couscous cooked with stock instead of water). This one will be a go-to for company!
substance's Review
Was really unsure about this one as we don't normally fruity things like raisins in savory dishes. My husband loves lamb, so I went for it. I'm not a fan of lamb but I love this dish, something about it (maybe the honey?) mellows the lamb perfectly. I let it cook for hours so the lamb has time to really tenderize. One of our favorites now.
CindyAustin17's Review
It was good not great. The lamb stew meat just was not getting tender. Possibly if I make again I may cut into smaller chunks. I have an excellent butcher so the meat was prime. I had to add more chicken stock to allow the meat to simmer longer to try to tenderize. Maybe next time add more chicken stock and braise slowly in dutch oven? It was easy to make. It will need a nice side vege.
JCharlotte80's Review
Delicious and a nice change of new flavors.
aprild5850's Review
Stew meat wasn't available at the market, so I used ground lamb and cooked together with the onion. Very good flavor and easy to make.
kerianne's Review
This was delicious. I had lamb chops in the freezer already so I cut those up instead of buying/using stew meat. The amount of liquid scared me at first but after 50 minutes of simmering, all that was left was fragrant lamb, chickpeas, raisins, onions and garlic. This is my favorite cooking light recipe so far.
justine1585's Review
I had never cooked lamb before, but decided to give it a try with this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out delicious. The meat could have been a little more tender, but I loved the flavor of the lamb with the chickpeas and raisins. Overall a very tasty dish, and makes great leftovers.
AmiNan's Review
We followed the recipe and it tasted amazing. The only substitution I would make is to use a nicer cut of lamb. 50 minutes is not enough to make stew meat as tender as it could be.
chicagolson's Review
Loved the taste - a spicy-sweet combination! I used beef instead of lamb and it worked well. However, there was much more liquid than in the picture; could that be due to the beef substitution?
EllenDeller's Review