Name: Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Melting Tomatoes and Onions
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: 6 loaves Moroccan Country Bread or soft flour tortillas; 2 teaspoons Moroccan Spice Mixture: La Kama; 2½ pounds thick, bone-in lamb shoulder arm chops; 3 tablespoons golden raisins; 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; freshly ground black pepper; 6 plum tomatoes, preferably Roma, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and seeded; 3 tablespoons mild olive oil; 1 tablespoon smen (optional) or unsalted butter; 3 large red onions, 1 grated and 2 thinly sliced; 1 3-inch Ceylon cinnamon stick, lightly crushed; Salt; ⅛ teaspoon saffron threads; ¼ teaspoon ground cubeb berries (see Sources) or cayenne; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2009

About

The Moroccan word for this type of cooking is bennaraïn, which means “between two fires.” In rural areas, home cooks place a tagine filled with meat and vegetables over glowing olivewood embers and cook the dish three-quarters of the way. Then the conical top is removed, a flat earthenware pan is placed over the food, and hot coals are piled on top. The resulting dish is crusty on both top and bottom and infused with a smoky fragrance. My kitchen adaptation produces a light charring