Tagine of lamb & merguez sausages Recipe

Nutrition facts (per portion)

By 2021-06-25

Tagine of lamb & merguez sausages is a Tagine recipe for 8 people, takes only 20 mins; recipe has turmeric, chilli powder and red onion.

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp hot chilli powder
Coriander - large handful coriander, roughly chopped
Turmeric - 1 tbsp each ground cumin, paprika and turmeric
Flat Leaf Parsley - large handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Garlic Clove - 3 garlic cloves
Olive Oil - 200ml/ 7fl oz olive oil
Red Onion - 2 large red onions, roughly chopped
Carrot - 2 carrots, sliced
Mint - 2 mint sprigs, to serve
Lemon - juice 1/2 lemon
Lemon Juice - 200ml/ 7fl oz lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
Ginger - thumb-sized piece ginger, roughly chopped
Honey - 1 tbsp honey
Lamb - 6 lamb shanks or a 1kg/2lb 4oz piece lamb or mutton shoulder (if using shoulder ask the butcher to cut it into 10cm chunks on the bone)
Harissa - harissa, to serve (see recipe below)
Sausage - 8 merguez sausages (optional)
Preserved Lemon - 2 preserved lemons, homemade (see recipe below) or bought, pulp scooped out, rinsed and finely sliced
Prune - 12 dried prunes

For the marinade, roast the spices in a dry pan for a couple mins until fragrant. Put remaining marinade ingredients in a blender and process to a smooth paste, then add the roast spices and blend again to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and pour over the marinade. Leave in the paste overnight, or for at least 2 hrs to absorb all the flavours.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. In a large roasting tin, big enough to fit the meat in one single layer, heat the oil and place over a high heat on the hob. Remove the meat from the marinade, wiping off and reserving any excess, then brown shanks on all sides in the hot oil.
Add remaining marinade to the dish along with the carrots, onions and prunes, then pour in 1 litre water. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook in a low oven for 3 1/2 -4 hrs until the meat is tender and falling away from the bone. Add the honey, lemon juice and seasoning and keep warm.
If using, fry the sausages until cooked through, then add to the tagine. Serve the meat in a large bowl with the sauce spooned over, then scatter with the preserved lemons and mint, and serve the harissa on the side.