Lamb tagine with prunes and Châteauneuf-du-Pape

You might not immediately think of wine in the context of Moroccan food but in fact Morocco has been a significant wine producer since the days of the French protectorate. And they planted the same grape varieties - grenache, syrah and cinsault that thrive in the south of France.

So it’s no surprise really to find that a lamb tagine, which is quite a red wine-friendly dish anyway, would work with a rather glorious 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château Mont-Redon, the only revelation being that it showed off the wine quite so well.

I adapted the recipe from Claudia Roden’s Arabesque, adding a teaspoon of honey which nicely offset the slight bitterness of the saffron and cinnamon without making the dish in any way cloying though, together with the prunes, it left a lingering touch of sweetness in the dish which married well with the generous opulence of the wine. The root vegetables I served with it - roast carrots and parsnips - worked well too.

You can buy it from Justerini and Brooks who sent me the sample and have just released the 2019 vintage en primeur.

For other wine pairings with other styles of tagine see Which wine to Pair with a Moroccan Tagine