Lamb, Prune, and Date Tagine

Lamb, Prune, and Date Tagine is a traditional Moroccan tagine dish.
It's sweet and it includes dates, it is often served when entertaining.

For 3 people

* ½ kilo of a shoulder of lamb
* 250 grams of dried prunes (around 30 prunes)
* 6 dates (pitted)
* one big red onion, sliced
* 200 grams of roasted almonds
* one cinnamon stick
* one pinch of ginger
* one pinch of saffron (pistils)
* one pinch of salt (or to taste)
* one pinch of pepper (or to taste)

Wash the prunes and put them in one liter of water. Let them sit. Put ginger, saffron, and lamb in a big pot. Cook on medium flame. Mix for one minute. Add olive oil and onion. Leave for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Take the prunes out of the water and put them aside. Keep the water! Pour it into the pot with the lamb. Let the meat cook for 1 ½ hours (or however long it takes to cook) on a medium flame. *You can also leave it on a low flame and let it cook longer. Add the prunes and dates in the last 15 minutes.

Moroccan Olive Sauce

A Sauce For Anything - "Chicken"

1/2 c water
8 oz olives.,Pitted
1 t paprika.
1/2 t hot hungarian paprika
4 lemon (with the,Slices
1 rind)
3 T tomato sauce
1/4 c olive oil
4 garlic cloves.
To remove the excess salt, boil the olives in water for 5 min.
remove from the flame and drain the water.
Saute the olives and garlic in oil in a pan for 3 min.
Add the spices, lemon, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a rolling
boil, then turn down heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

If you feel like adding chicken, you could dice 1 lb. of boneless
chicken breast as though you were going to do a Chinese stir fry --
and then throw it into the pan for the last few minutes until the
meat turns white.

Moroccan Mint Tea

No visit to a Moroccan home would be complete without the ritual of Moroccan mint tea, Indisputably Moroccos national drink. Prpared in a bulbus, or squat normally carved teapot made of silver or pewter.The tea is seved in small decorated tea glasses. Delisious, refressing and highly sweetend.It is made from a infusion of green tea with sprigs of fress mint, Occasionally orange flower petals are added when in season. To pour the tea, the teapot is held high to aerate the tea as it falls.
Mint tea is served throughout the day and aftr meals.traiders in the souks normally offer tea during and concluding a bargain.