Lamb and Prune Tagine

Hello food lovers!

Today, I’m sharing a recipe I make very often. So often, in fact, that I still wonder why I haven’t shared it here earlier…
Let me introduce you to my lamb and prune tagine.

Lamb and prune tagine, a family recipe

This recipe is the ultimate family dish. I love making it when we have a full table. This dish is all about sharing, smiles, sunshine!! So it’s no surprise that it’s one of the first recipes I felt like sharing here on the blog.

It’s often a dish passed down through families — and that’s exactly the case for me.

Tagine: an ancestral culinary treasure of the Maghreb

Tagine, a symbol of North African cuisine, is much more than just a dish: it’s a millennia-old heritage at the crossroads of Berber, Arab, and Andalusian traditions. The word refers both to the culinary preparation and the clay pot in which it slowly simmers. This ancient cooking method dates back to the Berber era, the indigenous people of North Africa, long before Islam arrived in the region.

The tagine’s conical lid is no accident: it allows natural steam condensation to drip back onto the food, encouraging slow, even, and fragrant cooking. This technique, well-suited to arid environments, allowed for cooking with little water while intensifying flavor.

Over time, the tagine has absorbed Arab, Ottoman, and Mediterranean influences, incorporating a variety of spices, dried fruits, and sweet-savoury combinations.

This kind of dish I absolutely love

And what I love most is that I always make extra!! Because this is the kind of dish that tastes even better when reheated.

By the way, if you love tagines… (added in July 2025) Here you go!!

Since this recipe, I’ve shared a few other tagines and here they are:

• Lamb tagine with confit tomatoes
• Turkey tagine with olives
• Veal tagine with squash
• Chicken tagine with preserved lemon
• Prune lamb shoulder tagine-style
• Lamb tagine with carrots.

My tips for nailing your lamb and prune tagine every time

Honestly, there’s nothing too tricky here — and it’s not even very time-consuming to prep. First tip: just plan enough time for a slow, gentle cooking process. Your meat will be so much better for it: tender, richly infused with spices, herbs, and honey. It’ll melt in your mouth!!

Second tip: don’t hold back on the spices. Be generous!

Lamb and prune tagine, a versatile recipe

Here, I’m offering the recipe with zucchini and small purple turnips, but your lamb and prune tagine can easily pair with many other vegetables: butternut squash, celeriac, carrots, potatoes, etc.

It’s truly a recipe that evolves with the seasons. Feel free to share your version in the comments section of this post.

The perfect side for your lamb and prune tagine

As a side dish, couscous is the obvious choice. Here, I added turmeric to it for a bit more flavor and a lovely yellow hue.

However, you can also serve it with rice or pasta, or even a good mashed potato or sweet potato mash and it’ll still be great. Not entirely traditional for a tagine, sure — but hey, mixing cultures is good too, right?

Essential tools:

A cutting board,

A good paring knife,

A 26 cm cast iron pot.

Shall we take a look?

The recipe, Chef!

Print Recipe

Lamb and Prune Tagine

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meat – maghreb

Serves: 6 Difficulty: Easy Price: $$

Prep Time: 30 min – Cooking Time: 2 hours 30 min

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg of lamb shoulder pieces
• 3–4 small zucchini
• 6 small purple turnips
• 250 g of prunes
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of wildflower honey
• 20 g of butter
• 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 1 handful of fresh coriander
• 1 handful of fresh mint
• Salt
• Pepper
• Turmeric
• Paprika
• Ground ginger
• Ground coriander

Instructions

1

Peel and cut the vegetables. Finely slice the onion.

2

Melt the butter with the oil in the pot. Then sear the lamb pieces, previously salted, on each side over high heat.

3

Set the lamb aside on a plate and sauté the sliced onion.

4

Add the garlic cloves, then the turnip pieces. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally for 4–5 minutes.

5

Add a glass of water.

6

Return the lamb pieces to the pot, along with any juices collected on the plate. Add the zucchini pieces.

7

Lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

8

Add the spices to taste, salt, pepper, herbs, and the honey.

9

Arrange the prunes on top.

10

Let simmer over low heat, covered, for 1 hour.

11

Stir occasionally and adjust the seasoning as needed.

12

Continue to simmer for another 1.5 hours over very low heat, covered.

13

At the end of cooking, check the seasoning of the sauce once again, and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Notes

Vous pouvez agrémenter d'amandes dorées dans un peu de beurre et de graines de sésame.