Lamb Tagine with Prunes, Apricots, and Pumpkin
A flavourful, slow-cooked lamb dish that is quite a common combination in Moroccan eateries. For best results, use lamb on the bone – it makes the dish even tastier. Black prunes and apricots add sweetness, pumpkin brings juiciness, and with long, slow cooking, the meat becomes very tender, and the flavours blend beautifully. Be cautious with salt: based on my experience with Moroccan food, salt is used sparingly, and the flavour mainly comes from the spices.

Preparation time: About 4 hours
Level: Not too complicated
Serves: Four to six
Ingredients:
1.5 kg lamb on the bone, cut into preferred pieces
1 kg fresh pumpkin
150 g dried apricots
200 g dried black prunes
Sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Olive oil for browning
2 large onions, sliced into wedges
8 garlic cloves, chopped
About 2 tbsp chopped ginger or ginger paste
½ tsp turmeric
A generous pinch of saffron
1 cinnamon stick (6–7 cm)
2 cloves
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
For serving:
Fine couscous
Butter for couscous
Fresh coriander
Flaked almonds
Preparation:
- Brown the lamb pieces in a heavy-bottomed pan for about 10–15 minutes until nicely browned on all sides.
- Transfer the meat to a casserole dish. In the same pan, sauté the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes, then add them to the meat.
- Cut the pumpkin into chunks with the skin on, remove the seeds, and add to the meat.
- Add all the spices: pepper, sea salt, saffron, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon stick, and cloves.
- Add the prunes and dried apricots. Mix everything, pour in about 200 ml of water, cover, and place in the oven at 150°C.
- Cook for about 4 hours. Stir gently from time to time, especially turning the meat pieces so they don’t dry out on top.
- Prepare the couscous: for every 100 g of pre-cooked couscous, pour over 120 ml boiling water, stir, and let stand for about 5 minutes.
- Add butter to the couscous, mix, and season with sea salt.
- Serve the lamb tagine with couscous. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and flaked almonds.
Ready!!



























