This Moroccan Spiced Lamb recipe was a part of our end-of-summer party to celebrate the last warm evening of the year, but its spices can also be a warming ingredient for the cold months. The coriander yogurt sauce and olive tapenade are optional additions, but if you are making it for a big party, they’re great ways to balance the savory flavor of the lamb with acidity and tartness.
The History of Lamb in Moroccan Cooking
Lamb is the most common meat in Morocco, usually eaten in a tagine with a wide selection of vegetables. All meat in the Islamic world has to be halal. So, pork is out, and all meat has to be slaughtered humanely. However, there’s a deeper reason that lamb is popular in Moroccan cuisine. In the Arab world, lamb is a symbol of abundance that hosts often serve to show their generosity to the guests.
Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stuffed Peppers
- Yield: Serves 10-12 people 1x
Ingredients
- 36 ea Stuffed baby sweet peppers
- 2 cup Olive tapenade
- 2 cup Coriander yogurt
- 12–15 ea Mint Leaves
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Sea salt
Moroccan Lamb Stuffed Peppers
- 4 lb Lamb, fresh ground
- ½ lb lamb fat, ground
- 10 oz Onion, Spanish, ground
- 12 ea Garlic clove, ground/minced
- 1/3 cup Ras al Hanout Spice blend
- ½ cup Parsley, chopped fine
- ¼ cup Cilantro, chopped fine
- ½ cup Bread crumb
- ½ cup Heavy cream
- 3 ea Eggs, whole
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 36 ea Baby sweet peppers, split vertically, seeds removed. Leave the stem section as much as possible
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
Coriander Yogurt
- 3 cup Greek yogurt, plain flavor
- 2 tbsp Coriander toasted, crushed
- 1 tsp Cumin, ground
- 1 tsp Black pepper, ground
- 2 Lemon, zested
- 2 T Extra virgin olive oil
Olive Tapenade
- 2 cup Mixed olives, pitted, rough chopped
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped fine
- 1 Orange, zested
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl combine lamb, lamb fat, onions, garlic, Ras al Hanout, parsley and cilantro. Mix throughly until homogenous and fully incorporated. Reserve mixture.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl combine bread crumbs, heavy cream and eggs. Mix until bread crumbs are thoroughly soaked and eggs are incorporated.
- Add bread crumb mixture to ground lamb mixture. Combine until thoroughly mixed. This mixture will resemble meatloaf. Reserve for stuffing the peppers.
- Lay the peppers on a prepared sheet tray cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Place 2.5 oz of mixture into each pepper. Top off each pepper with any remaking lamb mixture.
- Bake peppers for 20-25 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and cover for 10 minutes. Reserve for plating.
Coriander Yogurt
- Combine all ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Reserve for plating.
Olive Tapenad
- Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Combine until fully mixed.
- Reserve for plating.
Plating
- Place several dollops of yogurt on the plater. Artfully arrange the peppers in the dish, stack them gently if needed.
- Place several large dollops of yogurt in between and on the peppers. Speckle the top with it.
- Place the olive tapenade around the peppers in the same fashion as the yogurt. Have fun with it. There is no right way. As I say to my chefs: “Express yourself!”
- Garnish with fresh mint sprigs, both whole and some torn if they are large mint leaves.
- Drizzle the dish with EVOO and enjoy.
Recipe by Chef Kevin Hermann
Photography by Dave Bryce
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