Lamb and Prune Tagine

Ingredients

• 1 kg diced lamb, trimmed of most of its fat
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 preserved lemon, chopped or 1/2 lemon, juice and zest of or 1 seville orange (optional)
• 12 dried prunes (you could also use apricots)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup whole blanched almond, lightly toasted to serve
• chopped coriander, to serve

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 300F or 150 degrees C.

2. 2

   Put the meat in a tagine or other earthenware casserole.

3. 3

   Add the rest of the ingredients and put on the lid.

4. 4

   Seal this tightly with foil, or a flour and water paste, and cook in the very low oven for 2 1/2-3 hours.

5. 5

   As a variation, you could also make a soup by adding chickpeas, chopped onions, carrots, celery, turnips and plenty more water.