Moroccan Style Lamb

Nom nom nom...I love lamb!  So when I found this recipe in cookinglight, I added it to my to try list for when I went home.  It includes apricots - which - who doesn't love in cooking?  I think that pairs nicely with lamb.  

Bite sized pieces of lamb!  Perfect for sharing with a little furry friend who is also adorable and cuddly (as long as the lamb is boiled).  Yes, my nephew loves lamb.  He clearly gets it from me.  

Oh-knee-ion and garlic!

Oops...burned the bottom of the pan....

Red pepper, cumin and cinnamon

"uuper-cot, pooper-cot, nun goothila!" ~ my 4 year old cousin in India.  We were trying to explain the crayon Apricot to him and he basically was mocking the word apricot and said he didn't know what was going on.

Lamb Tagine, borrowed from CookingLight

Serves 4

• 1 pound boneless leg of lamb, cut into cubes as you saw above
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (crushed worked for me just fine though)
• 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste 
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, quartered
• 1 can chicken broth (the original recipe called for beef broth but you can also use water as I have done in the past.  Hardly notice a difference in flavor but it's totally a personal preference)
• cooking spray

Heat a dutch oven (or a le creuset) over medium-high heat.  Coat the pan with cooking spray.  

Sprinkle the lamb evenly with 1/2 tsp. of the salt.  Add lambie to the pan (yes, lambie) and saute for about 4 minutes (this is where I turned my back for ONE SECOND and it started to brown the bottom of my dish!)

Once the lamb is brown on all sides, remove, and add onions into the pan and cook until they are browned.  Add the rest of the salt, the cumin, cinnamon, red pepper and ginger and stir constantly.  

Stir in the honey and the tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring frequently.

Return the lamb to the pan, and add the apricots and the broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about an hour or until the lamb is tender, SOFT AND JUICY!  

I'm not sure what went wrong, but the lamb wasn't as SOFT AND JUICY as I like normally.  I think it was because I let it cook for more than 4 minutes (see the bottom of the pan).  However, the dish was fantastic, and we had it with some basmati rice.  I really like the idea of apricots and lamb.  Maybe next summer I will make apricot ice cream.