Lamb tagine

This is a delicious Moroccan dish, perfect for Autumn and Winter (which we progress towards, boo hoo) and is also brilliantly easy as it's one-pot. The apricots add a really nice sweetness which, accompanied with the other flavours, give a distinctive taste and aroma. You can use a large ovenproof casserole dish if you don't have a tagine, though it does help to complete the look :D Note, this dish needs to marinate, preferably overnight, so think at a minimum 3 hours in advance.

Lamb tagine
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 3 hours marinating
Serves: 4
Cooking temp: Gas 3, 160C
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 large onion
1 tsp ground corainder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsps sunflower or olive oil
600g boneless lamb (shoulder), cut into 2.5cm cubes
2 tbsps plain flour
300ml orange juice
600ml vegetable or chicken stock
150g dried apricots
Freshly ground black pepper
200g couscous
350ml boiling water
8 cherry tomatoes

1. Finely chop the onion into crescents and put in a large, glass bowl  with the coriander, cumin, ginger, thyme and 1 tbsp of the oil. Mix in the lamb, and cover with clingfilm. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. After this time, preheat the oven to Gas 3, 160C. Put the flour in a small bowl and add the orange juice very gradually, mixing to a smooth paste and ensuring there are no lumps. Set aside.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the tagine, over a high heat. Add the lamb mixture and fry, stiring constantly for 5 minutes, or until the meat is browned.

   

   You can add some carrots as an option, for more vegetable

4. Stir in the flour mixture and the stock. Bring to the boil, stirring, then remove from the heat and cover. Place in the oven for an hour.
   
5. Remove the tagine from the oven. Stir in the apricots, recover and return to the oven for 20 minutes, until the lamb is tender
   
6. Meanwhile, make the couscous - this is incredibly easy to do. Pour it into a heatproof bowl and add 350ml of boiling water. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the teatowl and fluff with a fork. Recover the bowl and leave for another 5 minutes. Remove the towel and fluff again, then halve the tomatoes and stir these in. Serve with the lamb.