Lamb Tagine With Apricots, Olives and Buttered Almonds Recipe (2024)

Where is the lemon?

As I'm always looking for recipes that don't use a lot of oil or butter, I'm an especially big fan of this delicious recipe. Not having to brown or sauté the meat makes a difference.

I made this 4 days ahead, using 2lbs of 2-inch cubed leg of lamb. It was fabulous. Reheats well. Great dinner party dish--works well over polenta for the gluten-adverse, though I'll try it next time over Israeli couscous.

This is absolutely delicious. I used chopped dates and a few prunes as I had no apricots, and added finely sliced leek instead of the sliced onion, the lamb was tender and the folks round my table loved the meal.

Excellent ! I put in a few boneless chicken thighs but it all fell apart because it became so tender. The lamb held together. Next time will make the chicken separately.
Everyone loved the spices in this lamb/chicken dish.
Called for 4 cloves of garlic I put in about 10. Had one cinnamon stick and used ground for the rest. Used extra almonds, green olives and butter. Couscous was a great addition.

This was a superb Easter Sunday main dish. The spice combination alone was worth the venture. The house smelled divine after cooking. I added about 1/3 cup prunes in Step 5 just because I had them handy and remembered seeing them in tagines I've liked before. I also made this 2 days ahead, making entertaining much easier before we sat down to the table. Highly recommended.

Wonderfully easy and delicious. I made too much and froze the leftovers and this was as good as it was freshly made.

I’m considering adding a can of chickpeas to the pot at the end to make the dish go a bit farther. Any opinions on this?Thanks!

Delicious, we made it for Christmas. Used Lamb stew meat and served it with Israeli couscous. It ended up being a bit blander than I prefer, I would make it again with at least double the amount of spices.

10/10 girlfriend! sub 1/3 cup dates and a splash of Beaujolais when you cook down the braising liquid. brown the butter.

This recipe has become a favorite, and makes the kitchen smell delicious so everyone knows what's coming. When available in the shops, I substitute cubed fresh mango for the apricots -- it adds a special tang to the dish. Thank you, Melissa!

If flavor makes you uncomfortable, this is your dish. I cannot properly express how disappointed I was with it. I have prepared Melissa Clark's other NYT lamb tagine recipe several times and been absolutely thrilled with it. This one is almost its foil. No marinating, no browning, scant spices, no herbs, no citrus, no freshness, no richness, no CHARACTER. And it was not the result of old spices or cut-rate ingredients. Had I been served what I prepared at a restaurant I would have sent it back.

The lamb (I used stew meat, which I had also well trimmed) was perfect (I did 45 minutes, then 1 hour with the sliced onions). I also only did 2 cups of water. I loved the apricots, but overall it needed more salt and some kind of acid. I think I would maybe use broth and wine next time for the liquid.

Made this for Easter dinner. Used a boneless lamb leg roast cut into cubes as that's what I could find at my small town store. Used chicken stock, not water. I find most NY Times recipes too timidly spiced so I upped both paprika and cumin to a very heaping tablespoon and added 1 tsp cardamom. Took 30 more mins for lamb to become tender, probably because of the different cut used. Made a day in advance, reheated and served over rice. Absolutely delicious with rave reviews

Added juice of a lemon and some no salt chicken broth because it was too dry after much needed longer stove top cooking. Used sautéed Marcona almonds, more olives and prunes. Made it 4 days in advance.

Followed the recipe almost to the T except that instead of 4 cloves of garlic I added 8. Simply delicious!!

Made as written. Excellent. Eleven year old: “I didn’t think I’d like this but it’s great!” Served with naan and cous cous and a kale salad.

Oh what a hit this was for a Super Bowl dinner last night with friends. Made exactly according to the recipe, except let the lamb cook in the oven about a half hour longer than recommended to make it really fall apart tender. Also - there was lemon recommended in Melissa's opening paragraph but nothing in the ingredients. So some of us just squeezed a little lemon on the assembled dish. Fantastic Melissa - we can always trust you!!

This was really good. I rubbed the lamb with spices and garlic and let it sit overnight in fridge. Also halved recipe, and skipped dried fruit and nuts at the end. Threw 2 cups of cubed winter squash in for the second braise and bumped up the sauce with about a tsp each of tomato paste and coconut aminos at the end. Would make again. Simple and delicious.

Made in the instant pot for 45 minutes - it was too long. The lamb was tender but dry. Next time I'll try 35 minutes.

We made this tonight, a double batch. We used shoulder “chops” from Lidl, which are milder than leg meat and turn into succulent morsels falling off the bone by the end of cooking. We didn’t bother to cube - just drop the shoulder slabs in whole, they’ll naturally come apart as it cooks. This also keeps it from drying out. Will have more fat this way, so skimming is important, but way easier and will appeal even to non-lamb fans (like me!). Highly recommended.

Refer to the Melissa Clark lamb tagine recipe for spices. Don’t just boil, use water and lamb Demi glacé. Sear lamb, and sauté the onions, garlic and grated garlic. Use the citrusy rice recipe in the lamb tagine in the NYC. Add saffron and Za’tar to the almonds and cilantro. Serve with red wine. 1/2022