Lamb Tagine

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Peel and cut your onions and squash into 2-3cm chunks. Quarter the tomatoes, and roughly chop half of the garlic keeping the remaining cloves whole.

Preheat an oven-proof casserole or large cast iron pot over a medium-high heat. Season your lamb with salt and pepper. Add a splash of veg oil to the pan and start the browning off the lamb. Don’t overcrowd your pan, you may want to work in batches here!

Sear all the sides until the lamb is nicely browned then set aside. Now add your onions, whole garlic cloves and squash and cook in the lamb fat for a few minutes with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chopped garlic, the ras el hanout and cinnamon stick. Cook for a further 2-3 mins.

Now, add in the tomato purée and cook for another couple of mins. Now chuck the lamb back into the pan along with the quartered tomatoes. Add the stock (you can use water if you don’t have stock) to cover the lamb and veggies and bring to a boil. Move the pot to the preheated oven and leave, uncovered, for 80-90 mins.

Remove the core of the preserved lemons and slice the rind into slivers. After around 45 mins, add the preserved lemons and whole dried apricots to the tagine.

After 90 mins or so the lamb should be tender and the sauce should have reduced and thickened. Skim off any excess fat if there's too much! Have a taste and season with extra salt, black pepper or a couple of extra lemons if you fancy.

Serve topped with torn mint and flaked almonds alongside steamy, herby couscous, yoghurt, and extra lemons.