Arabian cooking ..... from Herefordshire

We are delighted to share this fantastic recipe from Aspen House, Hoarwithy , a green, organic, real food B&B in the beautiful Herefrodshire village of Hoarwithy, run by Sally and Rob, who share our passion for locally sourced, well cooked food and a desire for a more sustainable way of life.
I just wished they'd taken a photo before they ate it all!!

~ :  mutton and spelt tagine  : ~

I am a big fan of mutton, because it is so much tastier than lamb.  The logic is simple.  Mutton is a mature meat, like beef.  Lamb is an immature meat, like veal.  Each has its place, but if you want to get the right balance of flavours in this homage to Arab cooking, mutton will give you a more authentic taste.  Your local butcher should be able to supply – at the very least you might be able to find some hogget (meat from a yearling, halfway between lamb and mutton).

The only advance preparation this dish needs is the soaking of the spelt grains, at least 24 hours in advance.  All whole grains benefit from soaking, but spelt particularly so.  It is an ancient grain (the Romans used it) with a hard skin, but well worth the trouble because the flavour is so good.

As with all spicy dishes, it is important to grind the spices fresh each time you need them.  Ground spices go stale very quickly, but freshly ground spices have a real zing to them that will make all the difference to this dish.

You will need:

500g diced mutton (or lamb)

250g whole spelt grains (soaked for minimum 24 hours)

I large onion, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely sliced

25mm stick of fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 dried apricots, sliced

olive oil

a good pinch of saffron

spice mix:

            1 heaped teaspoon roasted cumin seeds

            75mm stick of cinnamon

            ¼ of a nutmeg

            5 allspice berries

            1tsp paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here goes:

Firstly, prepare the spices, starting with the cumin seeds.  Put them in a dry pan over a high heat and stir or toss them gently for a few minutes until a ‘toasted’ aroma comes off them.  Then put them in a grinder with all the other spices and grind to a fine powder.  In the same pan gently toast the saffron strands, which will immediately begin to curl and take on a darker shade.  This will take only 10 – 15 seconds.  Put the saffron in a tablespoon of milk and let it soak while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Over a medium flame on your cooker, heat your Netherton Foundry slow cooker pot, add about four tablespoons of olive oil and brown the mutton all over.  Set aside.  In the same oil, sauté the onions, garlic and ginger until the onions take on a light golden colour, then stir in the spice mix for a few seconds.  Add 500ml of water and stir the mixture through.  Add the saffron/milk, which should be quite yellow by now, the sliced apricots, the mutton and the spelt.  Season with sea salt and black pepper, give it a good stir and make sure there is enough water to cover the whole dish, as the grains will expand during cooking.  Transfer the slow cooker pot to the hob and simmer it on ‘low’ for 8 hours.  If possible, check it halfway through the cooking time to make sure it is not drying out.  Serve on its own or with any vegetables of your choice.