2 large onions, peeled & sliced
1 kg lean lamb, leg or shoulder cut into, 4cm cubes.
4 pears, peeled cored & cut into 4cm, chunks
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup silvered almonds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
1 water, to cover the meat
1 salt, to tast
Directions
Intro. Tagines are Moroccan slow-cooked meat, fruit & vegitable dishes
which are almost invariablely made with mutton. Using lamb cuts down
the cooking time, but if you can find good hogget (older than lamb,
younger than mutton, commonly labelled "baking legs" and sold
cheaply) that will do very well.
1. In a large saucepan gently fry the onion in the olive oil until
soft, add the meat to the pan and cook until it changes color, then
add the spices. Add water to just cover the meat and salt to taste.
Cover and simmer gently until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 - 2
hours. (Displace the lid a little after an hour if there appears to
be too much liquid.)
2. Add the pears to the meat together with the sultanas & almonds.
Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pears are soft. Serve with
rice.
Servings: 6 servings
Lamb & Pear Tagine Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Lamb; Meat; Pear
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be tracked far back into ancient history, at least as far back into recorded history as ancient Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. Having said that, these, early records were just basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe in existence, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are some tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel `wonderful`. Much later, in Roman times a roman called Apicius compiled some scripts describing recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. He tells us how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main course and dessert, a very modern way of dining. Aspicius tells us how the early Romans used many aromatic flavors, including some that we all recognise such as thyme, mint and parsley. Continuing our culinary historical journey, there were a couple of interesting books which appeared in the fourteenth century ; a recipe book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these are not about the curry that we all know today, but rather recipes for the types of food served to the rich and powerful of the period. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods and herbs from Arab cooking, including basil and coriander. These new culinary innovations prompted an increase in manuscripts on food, the majority of which still exist in private collections. When we get to the twentieth century, cookery books were in great demand, mostly as a result of more people being able to read, more leisure time and being a little richer. |
We hope you enjoy this Lamb & Pear Tagine recipe.
