Braised Moroccan Style Lamb With Dried Prunes Almonds And Apricots Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay the lamb out, skin side down, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and the thyme. Roll and tie well with butcher's string. Sprinkle the outside with 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large oven-proof casserole. Add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove lamb from pot. Add remaining tablespoon oil. Stir in onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon cumin, the rosemary and the red wine. Bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Return the lamb to the pot, cover, place in the oven and bake until meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and take out the meat. Remove the vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them in a blender. Blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture back into the pot and stir well. Place over medium heat and cook about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Return the meat to the sauce and surround with the almonds, prunes and apricots. Cover and bake until meat is very tender and fruit is soft, about 15 minutes.
• Remove lamb from the pot, cut and remove string and cut lamb into thin slices. If sauce is too thick, thin with a little additional broth. Divide the lamb among 8 plates and spoon some sauce over the top. Serve immediately, passing any remaining sauce separately.

Steps:

• Add lamb shanks to marinade and toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator and let marinate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place carrots, onion, celery, fennel, garlic, and ginger in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Remove lamb from marinade and wipe off excess. Season with salt and pepper and add to roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast, turning once, until well browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and deglaze lamb and vegetables with wine and tomato paste.
• Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• Transfer lamb to a large Dutch-oven and add enough chicken stock to cover the lamb shanks halfway (you may not need to use all of the chicken stock). Add roasted vegetables, apricots, figs, dates, prunes, currants, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, crushed tomatoes, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and chile flakes. Place thyme, parsley, cilantro, and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth; tie with kitchen twine to enclose. Add to Dutch oven and cover.
• Bring lamb mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Immediately transfer to oven and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 3 hours.
• Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove lamb shanks and set aside. Remove vegetable mixture and cooking liquid from Dutch-oven and pass through a food mill back into Dutch-oven. Return lamb to Dutch-oven and toss to coat; serve.