Lamb tagine with chestnuts and pomegranate

Noelia, known to many of you as La Cucharina Mágica , brings us a perfect recipe for this autumn: she uses chestnuts and pomegranate to make a tender and aromatic lamb tagine, perfect for any family meal. It is also worth noting that it is a recipe that does not require great complications, but only a little patience so that cooking in a tagine offers us an amalgam of flavours that will make you dream.

Lamb, chestnut and pomegranate tagine is a Moroccan autumn recipe, but with ingredients that you can easily find and with a mix of flavours that will transport you to the Arab world, just with its smell and mix of pigments.

Moroccan cuisine is rich in flavours, aromas and colours. Emile Henry's Tajine is reminiscent of the old Berber tajines made of red ceramic, where stews are cooked slowly, without rushing, allowing all the flavours to merge into a delicious stew.

The lamb is so tender and soft after cooking in the tagine that it seems like butter, the chestnuts give it a touch of autumn and the pomegranates give it the acidic touch that contrasts with the rest of the ingredients.

Without a doubt, this is the best choice to debut your tagine and surprise your guests with a delicious original recipe, whilst retaining its traditional character.

Ingredients:

For the tagine:

• 1 kg of lamb meat
• 2 large onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 walnut-sized piece of ginger
• 250 g of peeled chestnuts
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 pomegranate
• 1 bunch of fresh mint
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon of Ras-el-hanout
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

For the chicken broth:

• 1 piece of chicken or hen
• 2 carrots
• 2 leeks
• 1 celery branch
• Water
• Salt
• 500gr of couscous

Elaboration:

We wash the carrots, leeks and celery and boil them in 1 litre and a half of water, with the chicken or hen, for 30 minutes. We set aside.

Finely chop the onion and ginger and fry in a tagine with olive oil until slightly golden.

We add the cinnamon stick and the tablespoon of Ras-el-hanout.

We wash the lamb, dry it with kitchen paper and add it to the tagine, stirring for 5 minutes.

Add 1 glass of broth until the lamb is half covered and cover. Let it cook for at least 1 hour.

We uncover and add the peeled chestnuts and the tablespoon of honey, let it cook over medium heat until the chestnuts are soft.

We add half of the seeds of a pomegranate and the aromatic herbs.

We prepare the couscous as the manufacturer explains, using the broth we have made instead of water.

We cut the vegetables and put them on the couscous.

We serve the tagine with the couscous.

Tips:

Ras-el-hanout is a mixture of Arabic spices, which you can find in Arabic shops or gourmet establishments. You can replace it with a mixture of homemade spices such as paprika, turmeric, pepper, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves and Jamaican pepper.

Reserve the broth and add it to the lamb if it dries out.