Leftover lamb tagine

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5 from 15 votes

Easy leftover lamb tagine with apricots and chickpeas is a richly flavoured, delicious treat. Using leftover lamb means no long, slow cooking. Ready in 35 minutes, it makes a perfect midweek supper.

Servings:

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion - (chopped)
2 cloves garlic - (crushed)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 inches cinnamon stick
1 tin chickpeas - (drained and rinsed)
1 tin plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp runny honey
125 ml stock - (lamb, chicken or vegetable)
250 g left over lamb - (cubed)
50 g dried apricots - (cut into quarters)
2 large handfuls spinach
4 tbsp coriander - (separate the stalks, and chop the leaves)
1 tbsp slivered almonds - (optional, for garnish)
1 pomegranate - (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

Heat the oil in a shallow casserole dish or lidded sauté pan on a medium-low ring. Fry the onion for a couple of minutes, and then add the garlic. Fry gently until the onion is turning translucent.
Add the spices and fry until fragrant, stirring well to coat the onion in the spice mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the spinach and coriander. Turn the ring up so that the stock is boiling, then turn down to a low simmer.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add half the spinach and stir it in. The spinach will wilt down; add the rest of the spinach and the coriander stalks. Stir in, cover, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Sprinkle over the chopped coriander leaves. Garnish with toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds if using them, and serve.

Notes

250 g of lamb fills about one takeaway tray. I find these a great, compact way of freezing leftovers.

50 g of dried apricots is about 7–8 pieces of fruit. They're easier to cut with scissors rather than a knife. Cut each apricot half into quarters.

You could substitute pitted dates or prunes instead of apricots. Like the apricots, they're far easier to cut with scissors. Again, cut each into quarters.

Use a quality brand of canned tomatoes. You don't need the absolute premium, but getting something better than supermarket budget brands makes a big difference.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds and/or toasted slivered almonds. Keep a close eye on the almonds as you toast them in a dry frying pan, as they go from just coloured to burnt very quickly. Keep the frying pan moving, and don't walk away.

Nutritional Information

This recipe is 18 Weight Watchers Smart Points.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.