Moroccan · Main course
Taza Lamb & Cardoon Tagine
Cardoons — the thistle cousin of the artichoke — are a winter favourite around Taza in the northeast, where their faintly bitter, celery-like stalks are braised with lamb, olives and preserved lemon. It's a rustic, seasonal tagine that rewards the fiddly job of trimming the cardoons with a uniquely savoury, slightly astringent depth.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 110 min
- Total
- 145 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
Ingredients
- 800 g lamb, cubed
- 600 g cardoons, trimmed and cut into batons
- 2 onions, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Pinch of saffron
- 1 preserved lemon, sliced
- 1 handful violet olives
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon (for soaking cardoons)
- Salt and pepper
Method
- 1
Prep cardoons
Peel the stringy fibres from the cardoons, cut into batons and drop into water with lemon juice to stop them browning.
- 2
Brown
Sear the lamb in oil, then add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, saffron, salt and pepper.
- 3
Braise
Add water to come halfway up, cover and simmer 70 minutes until the lamb is nearly tender.
- 4
Add cardoons
Drain and blanch the cardoons 5 minutes, then add to the tagine and cook 30 minutes until soft.
- 5
Finish
Add the preserved lemon and olives and reduce the sauce.
- 6
Serve
Serve hot with bread; the cardoons soak up the savoury sauce beautifully.
Chef's tips
- Blanching the cardoons first tames their bitterness before the braise.
- Wear gloves when trimming — cardoon sap stains hands brown.
- If cardoons are hard to find, celery hearts give a milder but workable stand-in.
Frequently asked questions
What do cardoons taste like?
Like a cross between artichoke hearts and celery, with a gentle bitterness that mellows when cooked. They're a beloved winter vegetable in northern Morocco.
Where do I find cardoons?
Look in winter at Middle Eastern, North African or Italian greengrocers. Jarred cardoons also exist and skip the trimming.