So Many Dishes

Making a meal in one of my tagines is always special. There’s just something about putting one of these pots on the stove that says, “it’s not your ordinary meal tonight.” That was definitely true last evening, in more ways than one.

Alice had a work event today in Belle Glade. She’d had to go out to the community, along Lake Okeechobee, Friday afternoon for setup. She asked if she could crash with us for the night, which made sense. We’re only 30 minutes’ drive from Belle Glade, but Alice’s apartment is 45 minutes in the other direction. So she joined us for dinner. Normally, when she’s here, Dante is with her. We love her partner, but his food tastes are pretty limited. This was a chance to make something for Alice that I wouldn’t if he was along.

When I posted about the lamb stew I made a couple weeks ago, I didn’t talk about the scarcity of lamb in our markets. Publix will usually have a few packages of lamb chops, but rarely do we see anything else. When we had a Sprouts market in Wellington, I could find cubed lamb, but that store closed two years ago. Yes, there’s lamb at Whole Foods, but it’s expensive. They don’t call it Whole Paycheck for no reason. Plus, it’s not exactly convenient, especially if we just need a couple of items. So lamb is a rare treat. However, I was walking past the meat case in Publix last week and spotted two packages of lamb cubes. I grabbed the larger one and repackaged it into two one-pound portions and froze them. When we knew that Alice would be with us, we decided to cook a lamb tagine.

I have a couple of cookbooks of tagine recipes, plus two Moroccan cookbooks. We had been eyeing a recipe in 150 Best Tagine Recipes by Pat Crocker for a while, and that’s what we chose: lamb tagine with Mediterranean vegetables.

I made a few changes, primarily because the recipe as written makes six to eight servings. Rather than two pounds of lamb, I just used one. And I reduced the number and quantity of vegetables. I left out chickpeas and turnip or rutabaga, because we still had artichokes, butternut squash, zucchini, and carrot. I used just one carrot and zucchini, rather than two each the recipe called for. I actually used more butternut squash than the amount listed; I bought a package of peeled, diced squash and used the entire thing, a little more than two cups. Alice’s eyes lit up when she saw the squash, so I know that was the right choice.

I cut the amount of onion, but not the garlic or spices. You may remember when I wrote about Ahmed’s Spice, the spice mixture Baharat. That’s the seasoning for this dish, I used my homemade blend that I detailed in that post. The house smelled just wonderful while the stew cooked.

I made this in my larger tagine, which was a good decision. It worked because of the large quantity of vegetables, but also because I can cook at higher temperatures. This tagine has a stainless steel base that can stand higher heat, whereas my traditional clay tagine can’t handle temperatures over medium-low. It made it much easier to brown the meat without worrying about cracking the pot.

Once all the ingredients are chopped, this is very easy to prepare. The artichokes went into the pan for the final 15 minutes, while I cooked some pearl couscous. I had planned to roast some tomatoes to have on the side, but forgot. We didn’t need them. We had lots of food, and plenty of leftovers.

We all really enjoyed the dish, although Ken thought the lamb tasted old—on its way to mutton. I agreed that the meat wasn’t as tasty as the lamb we’d had from Whole Foods, but it was tender, and the Baharat flavored it nicely. The vegetables were delicious, and the addition of golden raisins added a hint of sweetness. I put out harissa to add at the table, which adds to pretty much any tagine. I’ll make this again. The recipe below includes my modifications.

Lamb Tagine with Mediterranean Vegetables

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Baharat spice blend (or store bought garam masala)
• 1 pound boneless lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
• Juice of one large lemon
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 2 cups diced butternut or other winter squash (or 1 cup squash and 1 cup diced turnip or rutabaga)
• 1/3 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)
• 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and quartered
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, optional

In the bottom of a tagine, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add garlic and Baharat and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in lamb, tossing to coat with spices. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until lamb is browned on all sides.

Add broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir in carrots, zucchini, squash, and raisins. Cover with tagine lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Stir in artichokes (and chickpeas if using), replace lid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Alice was overjoyed when we offered her the leftovers. It also inspired her to quote one of our favorite movies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “what do you mean, he don’t eat no meat? Okay, I make lamb.” 😂

Happy eating!