Lamb Shoulder Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas

Allow 20 minutes to prepare all the ingredients. Slice the onions, chop the garlic, grate the ginger, halve the apricots, drain and rinse the chickpeas, prepare the lemon and coriander, and measure the spices, stock and oil. Pat the lamb dry with kitchen paper; do not wash it. Trim only obvious thick, hard fat, leaving the marbling. Keep supplied ready-diced pieces intact; their dimensions are not verified. Check smaller pieces for tenderness early rather than assuming a uniform size. Season the lamb with the ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Wash hands and clean the board and knife after handling raw meat.

Heat a heavy 4-litre casserole, about 24cm wide, over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Brown the lamb in three uncrowded batches, subdividing them if the pan base is narrow, using the same 20ml browning oil across all batches. Allow about 6 minutes per batch, nominally 18 minutes for three batches; count any extra browning time if more batches are needed. Turn to colour several sides; do not try to cook the centres through. Transfer each batch to a bowl, keeping the juices. Lower the heat if the browned residue starts to blacken.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 10ml oil and the onions; cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until softened and lightly golden. Heat the measured stock separately during this onion stage. Add the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, paprika and cinnamon stick and stir for 2 minutes, until fragrant, without letting the spices scorch. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice and the hot stock, scraping up the browned residue. Return the lamb and all its juices. Allow about 8 minutes for assembly and bringing the liquid to a gentle simmer. Roughly three-quarters of the meat height is only an approximate liquid cue, not a level to chase: the actual level depends on the pan and supplied pieces. Do not add water to an already wet braise. Add optional hot water in 50–100ml additions only if the sauce needs moisture to prevent drying or catching. Cover and turn the hob to its lowest useful setting: the sauce should show occasional small bubbles, not a rolling boil.

Simmer, covered, for about 90 minutes. Check at 60 minutes and gently stir along the base so nothing catches, then re-cover; this check is part of the simmer, not extra cooking time. If the sauce is drying out, add hot water in 50–100ml additions. By the end, a fork should enter a larger piece with only some resistance. If it is still firm, keep cooking in 15-minute blocks before adding the fruit. If small pieces are nearly tender at the first check, move to the next stage early rather than following the clock rigidly.

Allow about 3 minutes to gently fold in the apricots and drained chickpeas and return the sauce to a gentle simmer. Cover and check after 15 minutes, then at 15-minute intervals if needed, checking the base and moisture without vigorous stirring. Stop this stage at the first check when the apricots are plump, the chickpeas hot and the lamb separates under gentle fork pressure; the nominal 45 minutes is an estimate, not compulsory. Add optional hot water in 50–100ml additions only if the sauce is drying. If some meat remains firm once the fruit is plump, gently lift the fruit and any already-tender meat into a clean heatproof bowl. Continue cooking only the firm pieces in adequate sauce, covered, checking in additional 15-minute blocks. Return everything to the casserole before the full-through hot check below; fruit shape cannot be guaranteed.

Remove the lid and simmer gently for up to 10 minutes, until the sauce coats the lamb and chickpeas but remains loose enough to spoon. Fold gently rather than stirring hard. If the meat is already very soft and the sauce watery, gently lift the meat and plump apricots into a clean heatproof bowl with a slotted spoon and reduce the sauce separately. If sauce-only reduction needs longer than 10 minutes, continue to the spoonable coating cue and add the extra minutes to actual cooking and total elapsed time. Return all removed meat, fruit and juices before the full-through hot check. Skip reduction if the sauce already coats the meat; loosen an over-thick sauce with optional hot water in 50–100ml additions only as needed.

With all removed meat, fruit and juices returned, keep the casserole over gentle heat. Allow a nominal 2 minutes for the full-through check: the sauce and chickpeas must be steaming hot and the centres of the largest lamb pieces cooked through and steaming hot when cut with a clean knife. Tenderness is a texture cue, not a safety measurement. If using a clean food probe, check the centre of the largest pieces reaches 70°C for 2 minutes or 75°C for 30 seconds; clean the probe after each use. Start the hold only once the required centre temperature is reached. The hold may overlap the 2-minute check allowance if the target is already reached, but add any extra heating or hold time beyond that allowance to actual cooking and total elapsed time. Do not turn off the heat until the full-through endpoint is met.

Only after the full-through hot check, turn off the heat. Allow 2 minutes to remove the cinnamon stick and gently stir in the lemon zest, 15ml lemon juice and half the fresh coriander. Taste and add a little more of the reserved lemon juice, salt or pepper only if needed. The result should be savoury and warmly spiced, with apricot sweetness balanced by lemon.

Rest off the heat with the lid ajar for 5 minutes, then scatter over the remaining coriander. Spoon into warm bowls with plain couscous or warm flatbreads and a crisp cucumber salad. Accompaniments are separate from the recipe quantities and timings.