Cordero en la Tagina - Ethnic Foods R Us

Cordero en la Tagina (Lamb prepared in a tagine) is a classic Spanish dish. The combination of spices, herbs, meat and fruit makes for a complex and elegant meal. You will truly want to tell your guests, “Buen provecho!”

(Photo Attributed to Author: Kimberly Vardeman)

Cordero en la Tagina Recipe-

Ingredients:

(serves 4 to 6)

3 pounds lamb shoulder, meat cut away from bone and chopped into 1″ cubes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. Mediterranean sea salt (you really do want to use this particular salt – it’s not like any other salt)
1 tbsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. scallion infused olive oil
1 tbsp garlic and herb butter
1 large onion, peeled and rough chopped
6 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. mehr saffron
3 cups lamb broth
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup Marcona Almonds
fresh cilantro, rough chopped, for garnish

You will need: (if you want to prepare your Cordero en la Tagina in true, authentic and traditional Spanish fashion)

A natural clay Spanish Tagine (or a Moroccan Tagine will do just fine, also)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the salt and black pepper.
Dredge the lamb pieces in the flour mixture, coat all sides well, and shake off any excess flour.
In a large tagine, over medium-high flame, heat the olive oil and butter (Pay attention to your tagine’s manufacturer specifications regarding the level of heat – you don’t want to damage it). Stir often while it cooks.
When the oil and butter are warm, add and stir in the flour-coated lamb, onion, garlic, ginger, powdered cinnamon, and mehr saffron.
While the lamb cooks, heat your lamb broth in a skillet. (adding a cold liquid when your tagine is hot could crack it) As soon as the lamb pieces have browned, add and stir in the warmed lamb broth. Place the tagine lid on, reduce the heat to just a lively simmer, and cook for about 1-1/2 hours. Watch closely after about 45 minutes, and add more warmed broth or warmed water if necessary. Cook even longer if you wish – the lamb will be even more tender the longer it cooks, but do add warm liquid as you go along and need to.
When the lamb is cooked to your desired level of tenderness, transfer 1 cup of the juices from the tagine to a saucepan, and add and stir in the dried apricots, cinnamon stick, and honey. Adjust the heat to a lively simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
To serve your Cordero en la Tagina, remove the cinnamon stick from the sauce, and then drizzle the sauce over the lamb and garnish with a liberal sprinkling of Marcona almonds and chopped fresh cilantro. Place the tagine on the table and provide large soup spoons or ladles for everyone to scoop out their portions.