Morocan Style Lamb Casserole

I have been looking at all types of recipes for Lamb. I wanted to create a casserole recipe for Lamb that had a flavour which was rather North African in flavour to remind me of the dishes I have had in Morocco. This Lamb casserole worked out really well and it also freezes well so you can double up quantities to put half away for future meals. I have called this Moroccan Style Lamb Casserole. If you are vegetarian or vegan I have also adapted the recipe to make a Moroccan Vegetable Stew or Casserole with plenty protein full pulses and beans.
Ingredients
4 cups of lean lamb cut into bite size pieces(shouldre lamb is a good choice)
1 onion diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
1/2 cup sultanas
1 cup of dried stoned apricots diced
1 cup of stoned prunes sliced
1 can of chick peas
20 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of ground coriander
2 tablespoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of apricot jam
about 1/2 to 3/4 pints of water
Method
1. Take out a frying pan and a casserole dish.I use a Le Creusot cast iron one.
2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan to a medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic till soft but not burnt. Garlic browns very quickly so remember a medium heat.
3. Put the onions and garlic into the casserole dish
4. Toss the cut lamb in the flour.
5. Heat some more olive oil in the frying pan and add the lamb. Fry on a higher heat until the lamb is sealed and brown to look at but not burnt.
6. Add the lamb to the casserole dish.
7. Add all the remaining ingredients to the casserole and stir, Except the water and apricot jam and salt and pepper.
8. Add the water to the frying pan(this should nearly cover the ingredients and stir to get the flavours and juices from the frying pan, this is called De-Glazing the pan. Add this to the casserole(the water should nearly cover the ingredients, add more or less if necessary)
9. Stir all the ingredients together in the casserole dish. I then cover the casserole with foil and place the lid on.
10. Cook the casserole in the middle of the oven at gas5--375F---190C for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check after 2 1/2 hours.
11. Remove the casserole from the oven. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the apricot jam and stir it in to thicken the stew.
Garnish
1. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander, finely chopped pistchio nuts or cashew nuts
2. Serve with Roasted potatoes, Roasted sweet potatoes and roasted parsnips. To do these peel the vegetables, cut into chunks and boil for about 5 minutes in a pan of water and then drain off the water. Put the vegetables into a tray of hot olive oil( about 4 tablespoons), with salt, pepper, herbs and cook for 1 hour at the same time as the casserole but on the top shelf of the oven. I put them in 1 hour before the casserole is ready so they are all ready at the same time.
3. This moroccan casserole is also very good with rice, couscous and salad.

Vegetarian and Vegan Alternatives
Follow the recipe above but leave out the lamb.
Substitute for the lamb :
2 tins of chick peas for Moroccan chick pea casserole
2 tins of the following types of beans, red kidney, soya, butter, black eye, flageolot, borloti. Any of these would make an excellent Moroccan Bean casserole or stew to suit a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Recently my local supermarket has started to sell these types of beans cooked and frozen in large packets, these are superb for adding to casseroles and stews.

I hope that this has given you a good idea for a tasty casserole.
Thanks for reading. Crazycupcakes