Halal-conscious recipe
Lamb, squash and apricot tagine
The Good Food team's lamb, squash and apricot tagine: Halal diced lamb leg slow-cooked in the oven with ras el hanout, coriander, butternut squash, dried apricots, tomatoes and Halal or vegetable stock.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Photo: Ridouan Red · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Halal checks matter here
The tagine is 600 g of diced lamb leg, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, cooked in 500 ml of lamb or beef stock, which is a meat product; the yogurt served with it needs a gelatin check.
This oven-baked tagine cooks diced lamb leg with onion, garlic, ras el hanout and ground coriander, butternut squash, soft dried apricots, chopped tomatoes and stock, covered for an hour and then uncovered for 30 minutes more. Lemon zest and fresh coriander go on at the end. The source calls it a Moroccan mainstay. The lamb needs to be Halal, the stock Halal-certified or vegetable (see stock cubes), and the yogurt served alongside free of gelatin.
It follows the Good Food team's lamb, squash and apricot tagine for BBC Good Food, which serves four. It goes into the oven in a flameproof casserole rather than a clay tagine.
Serve in warm bowls with couscous and a spoonful of yogurt.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Lamb leg Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and lamb without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the lamb from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
- Lamb or beef stock Bought lamb or beef stock is a meat product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified meat or fat. Use a Halal-certified stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.
- Natural yogurt Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.
Safe substitutes
- Lamb of unknown slaughter → Halal lamb leg
- 500 ml lamb or beef stock → 500 ml Halal-certified stock or vegetable stock
Allergens
milk (yogurt, to serve)
Ingredients
Tagine
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ras el hanout
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 600 g Halal lamb leg, in 2 cm dice, excess fat trimmed
- 200 g butternut squash, diced
- 200 g soft dried apricots
- 400 g can chopped tomatoes
- 500 ml Halal-certified lamb or beef stock, or vegetable stock
To finish and serve
- 1 lemon, zested
- small bunch coriander
- to serve couscous
- to serve natural yogurt (no gelatine)
Method
- Soften the onion. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and spices and cook for a couple of minutes more, stirring so they don't catch.
- Bring to the boil. Add the lamb, squash and apricots, pour over the tomatoes and stock, season well and bring to the boil.
- Bake. Put the lid on and bake for 1 hour. Stir, then return to the oven uncovered for 30 minutes more.
- Finish and serve. Check the seasoning, sprinkle over the lemon zest and coriander, and serve in warm bowls with couscous and yogurt.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Lamb, squash & apricot tagine' by the Good Food team, which calls it a Moroccan mainstay (serves 4: oven at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6); a large finely chopped onion cooked 5 minutes in 2 tbsp oil in a flameproof casserole, then 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1 tbsp ras el hanout and 1 tsp ground coriander a couple of minutes; 600 g lamb leg in 2 cm dice trimmed of excess fat, 200 g diced butternut squash and 200 g soft dried apricots added, with a 400 g can of chopped tomatoes and 500 ml lamb or beef stock, seasoned and brought to the boil; covered and baked 1 hour, stirred, then baked uncovered 30 minutes more; finished with the zest of a lemon and a small bunch of coriander; served with couscous and natural yogurt). We specified Halal lamb and a Halal-certified stock or a vegetable stock, and flagged the yogurt's label; nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
-
Lamb, squash & apricot tagine — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By the Good Food team, described as a Moroccan mainstay. Serves 4, prep 10 minutes, cook 1 hour 40 minutes: onion, garlic, ras el hanout and coriander, then lamb, squash, apricots, tomatoes and stock baked covered 1 hour at 200°C and uncovered 30 minutes; lemon zest and coriander to finish. We specified Halal lamb and stock.
-
Tagine analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
What to check in a tagine: the meat and the stock.