Moroccan Lamb. So Aromatic.

On our honeymoon in Morocco a wizened old Berber showed us how to bake bread in the sand while another gave me a tagine lesson under the Sahara stars.  So perhaps not surprisingly I completely fell in love with the country, the food as well as the wonderful rug cushions and lanterns in Marrakech’s market.   

This is a lamb dish inspired by my time in Morocco and apart from preserved lemons the rest of the ingredients will hopefully be in your kitchen cupboards.  Serve the lamb piled on top of couscous (make according to the packet) sprinkled with dates and maybe some roasted butternut squash.

Ingredients (6 chops)

6 free range lamb chops

4 tbsp olive oil

1 preserve lemon, chopped

3 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 tsp runny honey

fresh mint leaves to garnish

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients, bar the lamb together.  Rub all over the lamb.... 

...and place in a snug dish in the fridge for at least 4 hours or even overnight.

2. Just before serving remove from the dish, scrape off the marinade (or else the bottom of your pan will look like Pompeii) and pan fry in a little oil for 5 or so minutes on each side (depending on how you like it cooked).  Allow them to sit while cooking so that they caramelise, too much poking and prodding is never a good idea.  Sprinkle over the mint leaves and serve, perhaps piled up on top of a large plate of couscous and dates and allow people to serve themselves.

The whole house smells incredibly evocative for at least 24 hours afterwards.