The Moroccan way of making stews typically involves the stewing of the meat with various types of fruit. In the case of this particular recipe we have chunks of lamb marinated in a mushroom and herb marinade for at least twelve hours in the refrigerator after which it is slow cooked with apricots.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this Moroccan Apricot Lamb is more or less pretty much like every other apricot lamb dish out there. I think the mushroom and herb marinade has a lot to do with giving this particular Moroccan dish a character all of its own.

What’s more; the marinade is not discarded as is the case with so many recipes that use marinating techniques primarily to tenderize the meat. This is not the case with Moroccan cuisine. So without further ado let’s get to it.

Ingredients

• 450 Grams of Lean Boneless Lamb
• 350 Grams of Mushrooms (field mushrooms seem to work best with this recipe but you can still use champignons if you prefer or don’t have the option of using field mushrooms)
• 2 Medium Large Carrots
• 2 Celery Stalks
• 1 Large Onion
• 1 Can (600 ml) of Diced Tomatoes (I prefer those varieties that also incorporate finely sliced capsicum)
• 150 Grams of Dried Apricots
• 2 Cups of Your Favorite Strong Brown Ale
• 1 Cup of Salt-Reduced Lamb Stock (you can substitute with chicken or vegetable stock if you have no lamb stock to hand)
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 Tablespoon of Freshly Chopped Parsley (to be used to garnish)
• ¼ Teaspoon of Grated Nutmeg
• Pepper to Taste

Method

• Cut the lamb up into assorted sized chunks and strips
• Cut the mushrooms into slices
• Peel and slice the onion very thinly in deed
• Peel and slice the carrots
• Slice the celery stalks
• Crush the garlic

Marinade

1. First up we need to get the meat marinating. Place all of the lamb, mushrooms and onion in a medium-large mixing bowl.
2. Tie the bay leaves and thyme together into a bouquet garni and add to the bowl
3. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and nutmeg one after the other on top of each other
4. Pour the ale over all of the ingredients and stir to mix
5. Cover the bowl and place it into the refrigerator to marinate for at least 12 hours

Cooking

1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F)
2. Transfer the lamb, mushrooms and bouquet garni into a large casserole dish. Pour the liquid component of the marinade over the lamb, mushrooms and bouquet garni. Now add the tomatoes and the stock.
3. Cover and bake in the oven for 2 hours
4. At this point you take the casserole dish out of the oven and fish out the bouquet garni which can be discarded
5. Next stir in the apricots and add the pepper. Give the dish another stir before returning it to the oven to continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

To Serve

The ingredients cited in this recipe will yield 4 adult-sized servings.

If serving with rice cook the rice as per directions. Steamed rice seems to work best with this Moroccan Apricot Lamb recipe.

So place a bed of steamed rice onto dining plates. Then ladle generous portions or the Moroccan Apricot Lamb on top of the bed of rice. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve immediately. Enjoy!