Lamb Tajine 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, aromatic lamb in a tajine, perfect for any family meal. It should also be noted that this is a recipe that does not require great complications, only some patience so that the tajine cooking gives us a blend of flavors that will make you dream.

The lamb tajine with chestnuts and pomegranate is a Moroccan autumn recipe, but with ingredients you can easily find and a mix of flavors that will transport you to the Arab world just with its scent and color palette.

Moroccan cuisine is rich in flavors, smells and colors. The Emile Henry Tajine recalls the old red-ceramic Berber tajines, where stews are cooked slowly, without haste, letting all the flavors meld into a delicious stew.

The lamb becomes so tender and soft after its cooking in the tajine that it seems like butter, the chestnuts give it an autumn touch and the pomegranates add the acidic note that contrasts with the rest of the ingredients.

Without a doubt the best choice to debut your tajine and leave your guests surprised with a delicious original recipe, while preserving its traditional character.

Ingredients:

For the tajine:

• 1 kg of lamb meat
• 2 large onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 piece of ginger the size of a walnut
• 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 hen or chicken
• 2 carrots
• 2 leeks
• 1 stalk of celery
• Water
• Salt
• 500gr of couscous

Preparation:

Wash the carrots, leeks and celery and put them to boil in 1 and a half liters of water, with the chicken or hen, for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Finely chop the onion and ginger and fry them in the tajine with olive oil until they are slightly golden.

Add the cinnamon stick and the tablespoon of Ras-el-hanout.

Wash the lamb, dry it with kitchen paper and add it to the tajine, stirring for 5 minutes.

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

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

Add half of the seeds from one pomegranate and the aromatic herbs.

Prepare the couscous as instructed by the manufacturer, using the broth we made instead of water.

Cut the vegetables and place them over the couscous.

Serve the tajine with the couscous.

Tips:

Ras-el-hanout is a blend of Arabic spices; you can find it in Arabic stores or gourmet shops. You can substitute it with a homemade spice mix like paprika, turmeric, pepper, coriander seeds, cinnamon, clove and allspice.

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