Moroccan-Style Lamb with Dried Fruit in a Tagine

Moroccan-style lamb with dried fruit is usually cooked in a tagine—a clay pot. (Of course, you can replace the tagine with a heavy, thick-walled pot with a wide base.)

Traditional Moroccan cuisine has no concept of a side dish. Vegetable dishes, whether cooked on their own or together with fish, chicken, or meat and various seasonings, are what make Moroccan cuisine so fragrant and appealing.

This recipe for lamb (or beef) with dried fruit in a tagine will be the centerpiece of your table—whether for Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, or any other occasion!

If using lamb or beef tenderloin, cut the meat into cubes. Cover the meat with water in a thick-walled pot with a wide base and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook over medium heat until dark brown. Add the sugar and cook for another 1 minute. Add the fried onions, saffron, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and ground pepper to the pot with the meat and cook for another 45 minutes. Add the ground cinnamon and dried fruit and cook for another 15 minutes.

Scoop out the meat and fruit and transfer to a serving platter. If the liquid remaining in the pot is not thick enough, reduce it over high heat to the desired consistency and pour it over the meat.

Sprinkle the dish with toasted almonds before serving.