Tagine-Style Lamb Stew

Great recipe but 1.5 hours is no where near enough time to make the lamb tender enough to create "ohs and ahs". We had a Saturday night party - I cooked the lamb for 2 hours on a low boiling simmer on Friday night and let cool overnight. I put the dish (uncovered) in a 200 degree oven for 10 hours on Saturday. One probably doesn't need to cook it that long, but I will say that it was the most tender lamb I've ever had. I'd definitely make it again, and cook it low and slow for a few hours.

Another way to serve this delicious lamb stew is over rice served the Lebanese way: break up a bit of angel hair pasta into little pieces and saute in butter until they turn brown, add rice and saute a bit and then add water and proceed cooking. It's delicious served with stews.

Used olive oil for the butter, diced dried apricots instead of preserves, added a cup of green lentils and an extra cup of chicken stock. Transcendant!

Put the onion in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before you grate it. You'll thank me later.

Did this all in my instant pot. Dry un-soaked chick peas. Sautéed in instant pot, added chick peas and stock, capped it and pressure cooked for 45 minutes. Took off lid, added raisins and dried apricots and brought to a boil right in the instant pot for about 3 minutes while it thickened up a bit. Delicious.

Excellent dish! Made this stew with a few variations: subbed chopped dried apricots for the preserves (added with the stock) as well as for the raisins (added at end as directed) and added carrots and parsnips (45 min into the cooking time). As other reviewers noted, needs at least an extra 30-45 mins for the lamb to be really tender. This was a big hit and I will definitely be making again!

I personally think that using chopped dried apricot makes for a better dish than using apricot preserves. There is already plenty of sweetness to the dish already without adding the extra sugar from the preserves. I'm also lucky to have a great source for Iranian sangak bread here in San Diego and it was a perfect medium for eating this wonderful stew!

Season lamb with salt & pepper. Brown lamb in Dutch oven in oil over medium-high heat, ~10 mins total, transfer to a plate. Drain fat if necessary, leaving just enough to coat the pan. Reduce heat, add onions and some salt, cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes (maybe less if this onion is grated). Add spices and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Add lamb, apricots and stock. Cook on LOW for 8 hrs.

Helped to coat the lamb bits in flour first, thickens the sauce nicely

Outstanding. I made this according to the recipe (maybe a little heavy handed on the spices). The lamb was not fall apart tended after 2.5 hours but was delicious... but perhaps too spicy for some tastes. Ate it again the next day, reheated a portion in the microwave and the lamb was very tender and the spices had mellowed. I'm making this in a couple of months for a group of 8 and will cook it the day before (simmer 2 - 3 hours) and then reheat in a low oven the next day for several hours.

The flavors in this dish were phenomenal — the vinegar and heat from the chile flakes especially. I used currants instead of raisins since that's what I had handy. Next time, I might use half the stock or add an extra pound of lamb so the leftovers aren't as thin.

It would be great to have an instant pot update of this recipe!

Great recipe!

Double the onions. Use quality Apricot preserves.

1/2 cup good white wine. High quality red wine vinegar.

Grass Fed Lamb Shoulder chops best. Trimmed of fat.

Add: Chopped carrots, with twenty minutes to go. Not much. For color.
Frozen peas, with 5 minutes to go. Subtle.

Finish: Mushrooms salted in garlic buter. Chopped parsley.

Wine: Good Pinot Noir, slightly chilled.

Love your honey!

Why wouldn't a slow cooker be the way to go?

Thanks for your comment. This is why I decided to put it all in a crock pot, which worked really well.