Tanjia Marrakchia

Lamb slow-cooked in a clay urn buried in ashes.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg Lamb shank
• 2 Preserved lemon
• 10 cloves Garlic
• 2 tbsp Cumin
• 1 pinch Saffron
• 3 tbsp Smen aged butter
• ¼ cup Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Black pepper
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1 cup Water

Method

1. Fill the urn — Put the lamb, whole garlic cloves, preserved lemon, spices, smen and oil into a tall clay tanjia.
2. Add very little water — Only a cup — the meat cooks in its own fat and juices.
3. Seal — Cover the mouth with paper and tie it down tightly.
4. Cook very slowly — Bury in warm ashes or bake at 140°C for 5 to 6 hours.
5. Do not open — Resist checking; the sealed steam is doing all the work.
6. Tanjia is ready — Tip out onto a platter — the meat should collapse at a touch.

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• Chicken Tagine
• Couscous with Vegetables
• Harira
• Chicken Pastilla
• Kefta Tagine
• Zaalouk