Lamb and Chickpea Tagine

This Moroccan inspired Lamb and Chickpea Tagine is a delight. It’s the perfect one pot dinner for a comforting and delicious meal with melt-in-your-mouth lamb, chickpeas and golden raisins.

This is a beautiful, Moroccan inspired dish brimming with rich and complex flavor. It’s easy to assume that when we cook dishes we might not be familiar with, that they will be harder, take longer, and result in more of a mess than say a casserole. But that doesn’t have to be the case, not when you have the help of a tagine style one pot meal!

Lamb and chickpea tagine is basically a lamb stew with chickpeas, carrots and golden raisins with Moroccan inspired flavors. This lamb will totally melt down in your mouth and is a bit sweet from the honey and golden raisins. I always love to use golden raisins in these dishes, because as they cook in all that liquid, they plump up nicely.

What Is A Tagine?

First of all, a tagine is a pot which comes with a tall, conical shape lid, you probably see them every time you walk through a kitchen store. Their appeal is that the tagine’s conical lid creates a moist, hot cooking environment for the dish you’re making.

As the food cooks, steam rises into the cone, and sends it back down to the dish, which in turn eliminates the need for a lot of liquid. The dish is slowly cooked and you end up with really tender meat.

Ingredients

Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• Lamb – This is a rich gamey meat that requires low and slow cooking to get that melt in your mouth texture.
• Spices – Ground Moroccan coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes.
• Veggies – Sliced carrot and white onion.
• Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
• Honey – The key to balancing out our rich savory flavors! You can substitute for maple syrup if that’s all you have on hand.
• Tomato paste – This will pack lots of concentrated tomato flavor helping us achieve a richer dish.
• Broth – Chicken broth low sodium to control the salt content of our dish.
• Chickpeas – This will add some great texture, chew, fiber, and protein to our lamb tagine.
• Raisins – I used golden raisins today because they are sweet, mild, and soft. These little treats soak up the extra juices as the dish cooks and they become little flavor bombs.
• Pistachios – Chopped up, trust me on this one, it’ll infuse crunch and nuttiness to our lamb.
• Cilantro – Fresh and chopped. If using dried just keep in mind that that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh.

How To Make Lamb And Chickpea Tagine

1. Preheat your oven: To 400 F degrees.
2. Brown the lamb: Add the oil to a tagine and heat over medium-high heat. Add the lamb meat and saute for about 4 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer the lamb to a plate and set aside.
3. Combine the spices and aromatics: Add the onion, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper to the tagine and stir everything together. Let the onion saute for about 4 minutes until it softens, stirring occasionally.
4. Form the stew: Stir in the carrots and garlic. Add the lamb meat back to the tagine. Stir in the tomato paste and honey. Add the chicken broth, chickpeas, golden raisins and stir to combine.
5. Finish the dish: Bring to a boil then cover the tagine with lid and place in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the lamb is tender. Garnish with pistachios and fresh cilantro. Serve over cooked couscous , cooked bulgar, or mashed potatoes.

How To Cook Couscous And Bulgar

If you’re wondering how to make those traditional accompaniments, I’m here to the rescue! Below is instructions on making fluffy and tender couscous or bulgar.

Couscous

1. Bring 1 3/4 cups of low sodium broth to a boil. Add a bit of salt, a small drizzle of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of couscous to the pot, remove from the heat and cover the pot before allowing the couscous to steam for 5 minutes.
3. Fluff with a fork and serve!

Bulgar

1. In a saucepan combine 1 cup of bulgar with 1 1/2 cups of water. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bring it all to a simmer then cover and cook over low heat for 10 – 12 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and let stand covered for a further 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving immediately.

No Tagine? No Problem!

Although I used a 1.5 qt tagine in this recipe a large skillet would work just as well. You will need a lid to cover the skillet while in the oven. A Dutch oven would work as well. Cook for the same amount of time as instructed.

Stove top

Another alternative to cooking this lamb and chickpea tagine is to finish cooking it on the stove top.You would still need to cover the tagine or pot with the lid and cook for about 50 minutes to an hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Tagine Tips

Cure your tagine

• You’ll want to cure your tagine when you first get it first by soaking in it water for 24 hours. Then dry it off and rub olive oil inside the lid and dish.
• Place the tagine in your oven and then set the temperature to 225 F degrees and allow it to sit for 2 hours before turning off the heat.
• This will seal off the clay of your tagine and ready it for cooking.

Cleaning your tagine

• Do not soak your tagine in soapy water!
• Simply wash it by hand immediately.
• Do not place your tagine in the dishwasher.

Cooking with your tagine

• You can’t cook with your tagine directly on open flame if you have a gas stove. Buy a tagine heat diffuser to prevent the dish from being ruined.

Leftovers

Fridge

Allow the lamb and chickpea tagine to come to room temperature but don’t leave it out, unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Freezer

You can freeze this stew for up to 6 months. Simply transfer it to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge when ready to eat.

More Delicious Recipes To Try:

• Irish Lamb Stew
• Instant Pot Beef Stew
• Crockpot Beef Stew
• Mexican Pork Stew
• Moroccan Meatballs
• Chicken Couscous
• Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma