Ingredients
1 1/2 pound of lamb shoulder (or stew meat)
15 prunes pitted
6 dates pitted (optional)
1 big red onion, sliced
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of brown sugar or agave
1/4 cup of roasted almonds
1 zucchini cut in moon shapes
1/4 cup of pomagranate seeds (optional)
1 tbsp of parsley (optional)
3 tbsp of Morrocan Tagine Spice or :
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp of ginger
1 tbsp of saffron
1 tbsp of turmeric
Wash the prunes and cover them with 2 cups of water. Let them sit. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Put olive oil in a dutch oven or Tagine dish and brown the lamb pieces until the have a nice color. Remove the lamb and fry the spices in the oil for a few seconds then add the copped onion, cook until translucent and add the tomato paste, the brown sugar or the agave. Season with salt and pepper. Take the prunes out of the water and put them aside. Keep the water. Pour it into the pot, add the lamb pieces and the cinnamon. Add more more of needed to cover the meet by 2 inches. Let the meat cook for 1 ½ hours (or however long it takes to cook) on a medium flame. You can also leave it on a low flame and let it cook longer. Add the prunes, zucchini, dates and roasted almonds in the last 15 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Take the vegetables and meat out of the pot and let the sauce reduce by one third. Adjust salt and pepper, serve the meat with sauce over couscous and decorate with parsley and pomagranate.
