Lamb Shank & Chickpea Tagine

The term Tagine refers to both the conical-shaped cooking vessel used for Moroccan cooking and also the dish itself, which is essentially what we know as a stew. The tagine’s conical-shaped lid creates an incredibly moist, hot cooking environment which in my experience results in tender meat and efficient cooking. As the tagine cooks, steam rises into the cone and trickles back down into the dish keeping everything moist and delicious.

This recipe has been designed to be cooked in a pressure cooker as it makes fast work of lamb shanks and chickpeas, however, a tagine, casserole dish or French oven would work well too with a longer cooking time; refer to the notes listed below. Included in this recipe is Herbies’ Tagine Spice which you can purchase online or in our store.

Lamb Shank & Chickpea Tagine

Print Recipe

Equipment

Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks frenched
2-3 tbsp Herbies Tagine Spice blend
2 tbsp oil
½ cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar & drained
1 sweet potato peeled and chopped coarsely
1 red onion peeled and sliced thickly
2 cloves garlic peeled & crushed
3 cups water or chicken stock
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp honey
1 wedge preserved lemon discard pulp & thinly slice the skin
4 fresh dates pitted and quartered
8 dried apricots
8 cherry tomatoes
½ bunch parsley roughly chopped
½ bunch coriander roughly chopped

To Serve

Couscous
Yoghurt

Instructions

Place lamb shanks in a bowl and sprinkle with tagine spice and toss to coat evenly. Reserve any spice that may fall to the bottom of the bowl.
Heat the base of the pressure cooker over medium heat and add the oil. Add lamb shanks and brown evenly.
Add the chickpeas, sweet potato, onion, garlic and reserved spice mix and fry for another minute or two, coating everything in the spice mix as best you can. Season with salt & pepper.
Add remaining ingredients, except parsley and coriander, and bring to a simmer. Lock the lid on and bring it to high pressure and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat & release pressure. Carefully remove the lid & check the lamb and chickpeas for tenderness. If necessary, bring back to high pressure and cook for another 10 mins.
Remove lamb shanks from the sauce and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil for 10 mins to reduce and thicken the sauce.
Scatter with herbs and serve with couscous and a dollop of yoghurt.