Almost Core Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Apricot - Moroccan Cooking School

Dried fruit and cinnamon make a wonderfully sweet tagine.

Serves: 6 -8

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, sliced
• cooking spray
• 1kg of lean diced lamb
• * 100g dried apricots, cut into 4 or 6 pieces each
• * 200g dried prunes, cut into 4 or 6 pieces each
• lemon juice
• 1tsp cinnamon
  Note - cinnamon goes stale in a few months. Take a sniff and if smell is not very strong, go get some fresh cinnamon as it will have no flavour.
• 1 heaped TB of Moroccan spice mix
• fresh parsley, about 3 TB chopped
• fresh coriander, about 3 TB chopped
• * 2 TB sugar (you can also use honey)
• saffron or artificial saffron colour (Hoyts in the refill bags)
• salt
• pepper

Method:

Heat a large soup saucepan to medium-high
Spray with oil and add onions and diced lamb and stir for about 2 or 3 mins.
Turn heat down to low and add 2 cups of water, parsley, coriander and moroccan spices.
Also add a few strands of saffron or about 1/8 tsp of the colouring.
Note - through this recipe you will need to monitor the liquid level and add more water as needed. You need somewhere between enough so it doesn't stick on the bottom and to just covering the contents, depending on how wet you like your "stews". I prefer mine to be thicker, while others prefer very waterey so the rice can soak up the fragrant sauce. Your choice, but keep adding water as needed.
Keep simmering for about 30-40 mins, stirring and checking water level.
Add salt and pepper, a good squeeze of lemon (about 1/4 cup) and dried fruit and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve on rice or couscous (points do not include)

Not on Core? The total Points for this recipe is 39.5 pts, or 5pts serving 8

On Core you need to add the points for the starred ingredients, totalling 9.5 pts for the recipe or 1 pt each serving 8.

CORE Lamb Biryani

A fragrant Indian dish with tender chunks of lamb

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 400g lamb fillet, diced
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 3 tsp mild curry powder
• 2 tsp ginger, crushed or grated
• 2 tsp garlic, crushed or grated
• chicken stock - 2 tsp / 2 cubes - whatever your brand says to use with 2 cups water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cups arborio rice
• 1 tin diced tomatoes
• vegies - 4 cups point free vegies
  (I used 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, 1 cups broccoli, 1 1/2 cups frozen beans)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn

Method:
In a large casserole dish with a lid, add lamb and all dry spices and dry stock powder. Mix well to coat lamb.
Add garlic, ginger, onion and 2 cups (0.5L) water.
Bake at 180*C covered for 1 hr.
Remove from oven, stir, add rice, vegies and tomatoes and stir again.
Bake at 180*C covered for 45 mins or until rice has absorbed all fluid.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 22 points

CORE Morrocan Lamb with Apricots

This lovely Moroccan dish is lovely served with couscous with coriander

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 600g lamb mince
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, crushed
• 1 tin crushed tomatoes
• 1 400g tin of apricot halves in juice
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 4 cup frozen green beans
• 1 cup peas (try mint peas)
• Moroccan spice mix
  I used Masterfoods Spice Essentials for Moroccan Lamb, which is expensive and has individual sachets of herbs. I measured them out and provide the quantities:
  1 cinnamon quill, 3 tsp cumin, 4 tsp dry coriander, 3 tsp tumeric, 3 tsp dried ginger

Method:
Fry onion with garlic and onion until browned.
Add tin of apricots, juice and all and simmer 5 mins before adding tomatoes, frozen vegies and herbs. Simmer for 5 mins

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is 21 points

Serve with plain couscous, coriander couscous or rice.

Coriander Couscous Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup dry couscous
4 tsp coriander, chopped

Method:
Add 1 1/4 cup boiling water to dry couscous and let stand.
Fluff with a fork after 4 mins, stir through coriander and allow another minute

Not on Core? The total of this couscous recipe is 11 points

CORE Lamb & Rosemary Mini Meatloaf

Tasty mini lamb meatloaf or terrines are cooked in muffin trays or friand trays (oval muffin trays) and wrapped in ham

Hot = mini meatloaf
Cold = terinne, "a luxurious cold meatloaf"

Serves: 4 people (2 mini meatloaf / terrines each)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 500g of premium lamb mince (5% fat)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 2 tsp dried rosemary (fine)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 125 g frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 slices thin smoked ham (approx 200g), needs to approx 20 cm long - eg Virginian
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp crushed garlic

Method:

Mix all apart from ham together in a large bowl with your hands
(Hint - try leaving the mince out of the fridge for awhile first. Trust me, mince straight from the fridge is cold, especially on your knuckles)
Get out your half cup capacity muffin / friand tins (or ramekins) and drape a slice of ham across each one. (I do not grease as the shrink back from the 5% fat means they will pop out easily)
Divide the meat mix into the 8 trays, push into the tin with the back of a spoon and fold ham over the top.
Cover tray with alfoil and put a baking tray on top to weigh down any bits of ham which don't want to stay flat.
Slide into a cold oven and put a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven.
Turn oven on to 180*C and cook for 1 hour (including the preheat time). Remove alfoil and bake another 15 minutes
If having hot as meatloaf, why not throw some potatoes in to roast? 100g potatoes (whole) will cook in the same time as the meatloaf (ie 1 h 15m)

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 20 points

Options:

Prefer beef?
Change lamb for beef (I bet you couldn't guess that) and rosemary for mixed herbs or basil.

Hate spinach?
Change spinach for 2 medium grated carrots

Hate ham?
With no ham the total for this recipe is 16 points

CORE Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

This recipe was given to me by a friend almost 20 years ago who was an apprentice butcher.

Serves: 4-6 depending on size of roast

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg leg of lamb (or whatever size to suit your family)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Rosemary, fresh or dried

Method:

With a sharp thin knife, pierce the lamb about 10 times.
Using a skewer, push a slice of garlic into each slit with a leaf or 2 of rosemary (if using dried rosemary, spray the garliced lamb with oil and rub rosemary in)
Cook at 180*C
How long?
For every 500g of roast, 20-25 mins for rare, 25-30 mins for medium, or 30-35 mins for well done
ie a 1.5 kg roast 1 - 1/4 hours for rare, 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 for medium or 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 for well done

In the last 45 - 60 minutes, add vegies to pan or a seperate pan.
My Roast Vegetables with Sea Salt and Rosemary is lovely with this recipe