Tagine aux pruneaux — lamb tagine with prunes — is one of the most celebrated festive tagines in Moroccan cuisine, featured by BBC Arabic as an iconic national dish. It belongs to the sweet-savory tagine tradition that is uniquely Moroccan: meat slow-cooked with dried fruit, honey or sugar, warm spices and toasted nuts, producing a glossy sauce where savory and sweet are inseparable. The dish is particularly associated with Fez and the northern cities, and it is the kind of tagine a Moroccan family makes when guests come, not for an everyday dinner. The prunes swell in the long braise, absorbing the lamb fat and spices until they are jammy and almost collapsing.
The lamb falls off the bone in a glossy, deeply savory sauce; the prunes are swollen, jammy and sweet, the almonds add a buttery crunch, and the cinnamon-saffron perfume runs through everything. A spoonful of sauce over couscous or bread is the best part.
The lamb's collagen dissolves into gelatin over the 90-minute braise, giving the sauce its silky body. The prunes are added in two stages: some early, to melt into the sauce and sweeten it from within; some late, to hold their shape and provide the swollen, jammy bite. The onions caramelize slowly in the lamb fat, building the sweet base that the cinnamon and saffron sit on top of. The almonds are toasted separately and added at the end so they stay crisp — adding them early and they go soggy.
Variations
Some versions add apricots alongside the prunes. A Fassi variant uses beef instead of lamb. Sesame seeds are a common final garnish.
On the Palate
Where Tagine aux Pruneaux sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 18 min
In a tagine or heavy pot, brown 1 kg lamb shoulder chunks in 3 tbsp olive oil; add 2 chopped onions, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp saffron threads, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt and pepper; cook 5 minutes.
Watch outBrown the lamb in batches so it colours rather than steams — the seared surface is where the sauce gets its depth; crowded, grey meat gives a flat braise.
- 220 min
Add enough water to half-cover; bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 45 minutes until the lamb is nearly tender.
- 38 min
Soak 250 g pitted prunes in warm water 15 minutes; drain. Blanch and peel 100 g almonds; toast in a dry pan until golden.
- 410 min
Add half the prunes to the tagine; simmer uncovered 20 minutes until the sauce thickens and turns glossy.
Watch outAdd the first half of the prunes now and simmer uncovered until the sauce turns glossy and coats a spoon — these prunes melt in to sweeten it from within.
- 55 min
Add the remaining prunes and cook 10 more minutes; stir in 1 tbsp honey.
- 64 min
Scatter the toasted almonds and a handful of sesame seeds over the top; serve from the tagine with bread or couscous.
Watch outToast the almonds separately and scatter them only at the end — put them in early and they go soft; you want them still crisp against the soft lamb.
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