Lamb Tagine With Cardoons (Kharchouf). A delicious, savory dish of fall apart lamb and tender cardoons.
2 large bunches of cardoons
1 lemon, halved
2.25 lbs bone in lamb shank, cut into pieces
4 T olive oil
1 onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground turmeric
1/2 t ground black pepper
Pinch of saffron soaked in 3T hot water
1/4c chopped parsley
2T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2c Moroccan purple olives
1 preserved lemon
Salt to taste
Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil, lamb, onion, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, salt and saffron water. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, tossing the meat to coat in spices. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add enough water to cover along with parsley and the pulp from half of a preserved lemon. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes while preparing the cardoons.
Start by squeezing the juice from each lemon half into a large bowl of cold water. Add the lemon halves. Remove the woody portion from the bottom of each stalk and remove spiny edges from each side with a pairing knife. Carefully remove all stringy pieces from the top of stalk. Scrape the thin layer of white film away from the underside of each stalk. Cut into 3” segments and place immediately in lemon water to prevent browning.
Place cardoons on top of the meat and add just enough boiling water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook over low heat for 1h15 minutes. Remove the lid, add lemon juice and continue to cook uncovered another 15-20 minutes to let the sauce reduce. The cardoons should be tender and the meat should be falling apart at this time.
Place meat on a serving dish and artfully arrange cardoons on top. If the sauce needs to be reduced, you can boil it down at this time and adjust seasoning. Top the cardoons with purple Moroccan olives, slices of preserved lemon and spoon sauce over the top.
Serve immediately with crusty bread. Enjoy!
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