Lamb Tagine with Apricots in Honey Sauce, Sea Salt and Rosemary Focaccia, Pinot Noir

Today is the husband’s birthday, and he requested his favorite dish, Tagine of Lamb and Apricots in Honey Sauce.It’s seriously delicious. I’ve never blogged it because it doesn’t feature CSA fare, and is totally unchanged from the original recipe. I’m sure I could throw in some sweet potatoes, or leeks, or something from our CSA and health it up a bit, but it’s delicious as is, and this was a special birthday request.

I’ve never understood the “cooked till it’s falling apart” approach to meat. Usually that means either I get something so fatty it never dries out, or eat stringy, sawdusty meat with lots of sauce. But I think the technique of sticking the dutch oven in the oven essentially pressure cooks the lamb, and it always comes out soft and delicious. I really prefer my leg of lamb (and most meat) on the rare side, but this is a different beast.

Note the focaccia! It came out fantastic. I used this recipe from foodtv.com, but I used a bit less flour. I couldn’t figure out how comparable recipes used only 3.5ish cups, so I split the difference. I also, per my Dad’s advice, took it out after 15 minutes and used an instant read thermometer to check doneness. It was not as browned as the last (super tough) batch, but fully cooked at 205 degrees. Victory! Fluffy, tender, flavorful focaccia. Win!

Dessert was Goat Cheese, Thyme, and Honey ice cream from our beloved Lick, and fresh organic strawberries. I opted to hold the ice cream and save up for my big fast breaking on V-Day next week.