Autumn Mutton and lamb have superb flavour, and hold up well with the spice and fruit of the tagine. We have a load of quince in the shop at the moment, thanks to a glut from a customer’s tree. They are odd shaped and beautifully scented, and this is an excellent use for them. Depending on numbers, you could have a whole shoulder on the bone, but this uses diced shoulder.
Serves 6-8
1.8kg boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed & diced into 4cm cubes
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
4 quince, peeled, seeded and quartered
1 head garlic, unpeeled and halved across its equator
A thumb of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
1 tsp ground ginger
3 bay leaves
A large pinch of saffron threads
½ cinnamon stick
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp chilli flakes
400g chopped tomatoes with their juices
Method
1 Salt the lamb at least an hour before cooking, preferably overnight. Bring to room temperature.
2 Set a Dutch oven or heavy based pot over a medium-high heat and coat the bottom in oil. Brown the lamb in small batches on all sides, then transfer to a bowl. Pour out the fat and return to the heat, deglaze the pan with water and add to the lamb.
3 Return the pot to a medium heat and and fry the onion, quince, garlic, herbs and spices in oil until the onions are brown and soft.
4 Add the tomatoes to the quince mix and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the lamb and its liquid. Add enough stock or water to come about ⅓ of the way up the sides of the meat, then add about 300ml more. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the tagine partially with a lid. Stirring occasionally, continue simmering the meat until tender – about 2 hours.
5 Season to taste, removing any fat from the surface. Serve with steamed couscous and herbed yoghurt.
This recipe was absolutely DELICIOUS.. loved the concept of just coming in to buy the meat with the spices all ready to go – this was a super-simple Sunday casserole and we loved it – thank you Stansted team – great idea!
Thanks Sarah, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and it’s a great way to cook with quince and autumn South Downs Lamb.