Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Toasted Almonds (Mrouzia)

La storia di questo piatto

Mrouzia is a Moroccan dish of the Maghreb, tied to Aïd el-Kebir, and sources trace it to 13th-century manuscripts. Lamb, prunes and toasted almonds meet in a spiced, honeyed sweetness that has long marked the festive table.

Ingredienti

• 1000 g Lamb shoulder, cut into pieces, bone-in
• 2 teaspoon Ras el hanout
• 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
• 1 pinch Saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• 500 g White onions
• 3 clove Garlic
• 40 g Clarified butter (or smen)
• 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• 6 g Fine salt
• 1 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 400 ml Water
• 200 g Pitted dried prunes
• 3 tablespoon Orange blossom or wildflower honey
• 80 g Blanched almonds
• 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice (optional)
• 1/2 bunch Fresh coriander

Preparazione

1. Start with the marinade, which is half of the dish. Crush the saffron threads between your fingers and dissolve them in 2 tablespoons (about 30 ml, taken from the 400 ml total) of lukewarm water: after 10 minutes the water should turn an intense orange. Meanwhile, grate one onion (about 100 g) into a bowl and combine it with ras el hanout, ginger, pepper, 3 g of salt, the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the crushed garlic, then pour in the saffron. Massage the lamb with this paste, by hand, until it is well coated in a rust-yellow veil. Cover and let it rest at least 1 hour outside the fridge; if you can, better overnight in the fridge, taking it out half an hour before cooking. The cinnamon does not go here: added at the start it turns bitter.
2. Slice the remaining onions into thin half-moons (about 400 g). In a wide, heavy casserole (or in the tagine over a heat diffuser), heat the 40 g of clarified butter (or smen) over medium heat and brown the lamb pieces a few at a time: if you crowd them, the meat releases water and boils instead of browning. Turn them until golden on every side, when you smell a crust forming and see the bottom darkening. Those brown bits will give character to the sauce, so do not wash them away. Remove the meat and set it aside.
3. In the same fat, add the onions with 1 g of salt (about a pinch). Keep the heat medium-low and stir often for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent, without taking on dark color. Pour in 70 ml of water and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to recover all the flavor. Return the lamb, add the remaining 300 ml of water and the last 2 g of salt: the liquid should reach halfway up the pieces, not cover them.
4. Bring to a first boil, then lower to minimum: the surface should barely tremble, never boil hard, or the meat will toughen. Cover with the lid and cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, checking now and then. If the liquid drops too much, add a splash of hot water, never cold. The lamb is ready when the tip of a knife slides in without resistance and the meat begins to pull away from the bone.
5. While the lamb finishes, toast the 80 g of almonds separately in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring for 4-5 minutes, until golden and fragrant like hazelnuts. Remove them from the pan immediately, because with residual heat they keep darkening and become bitter. In the same pan toast the tablespoon of sesame for 1 minute, until it takes color and starts to jump. Let cool and coarsely chop half of the almonds (40 g), keeping the others whole.
6. Now comes the moment for the honey. Add the prunes, the cinnamon and the 3 tablespoons of honey, and stir gently. Raise the heat slightly to medium-low, uncover the casserole and cook for 20 minutes, stirring and turning the meat in the sauce often. The liquid should reduce to a dark, glossy syrup that coats the spoon, and the prunes should become plump and almost falling apart. If the sauce splatters or sticks, lower the heat immediately: the sugar in the honey burns in an instant.
7. Taste and adjust, as a grandmother would: if it is too sweet, add the lemon juice (1 teaspoon, optional) at the end and a drop will brighten everything; if it is flat, a pinch of salt. Turn off the heat and let it rest 5 minutes with the lid on, so the flavors settle. Serve the lamb in the tagine or in a deep plate, with the lacquered sauce on top, the toasted almonds (chopped and whole), the sesame and the chopped fresh coriander. Bring to the table hot, with bread to gather every drop of sauce.