Skip to main content

Coffee-Rubbed Lamb Tagine with Seven Hills Merlot #MerlotMe #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf Seven Hills Winery, one of the #MerlotMe event sponsors.
Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.
However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

As I started researching for this post, I realized that this is the first non-California Merlot that I am sharing for this year's #MerlotMe. You can see several of my other pairings rounded-up in my post: So Many Merlots, So Many Pairings. When the wines starting rolling in from the event sponsors*, I posted the photo below and a friend, who was familiar with the winery, immediately chimed in with a flavor profile that had my mouth watering: lamb, coffee, and vanilla. That was it. No link to a recipe. Nothing. Just the suggestion. I ran with it!

Seven Hills Merlot

Seven Hills Winery was a new one to me. So, I did some reading. Located in the heart of Walla Walla, Washington, it's one of the area’s oldest wineries. And, as a fourth-generation farmer who worked alongside his father to plant the founding estate blocks, founder and winemaker Casey McClellan has played an important role in the viticultural history of the Walla Walla Valley appellation (AVA). 


From McClellan: "This wine is drawn from the original Merlot blocks at Seven Hills Vineyard that I planted with my father in the summer of 1982. 2015 marks the 28th vintage I have made Merlot from these same vines. This vintage exhibits a beautiful, dark ruby color and enticing aromas of red cherry, raspberry, mocha, and rose petals. The palate is supple and generous with loads of red fruits accentuated with vanilla and spice and finishing with both supple fruit and firm, spicy tannins. While drinking well at release, it will improve considerably with a few years of bottle age and should cellar well for up to ten years from vintage."

I could definitely see the pairing of the lamb, coffee, and vanilla being spot-on. I considered roasting a coffee-rubbed leg of lamb, but I still had some boneless roasts in my freezer from the micro-share of lamb we bought. So, I opted to rub the lamb and cook it in my tagine.

Tagine

A tajine or tagine is a Maghrebi dish named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. So, it refers to both the cooking vessel and the resulting food; it is also called a maraq/marqa in North Africa and the Middle East.

Mentions of the tagine date back to Harun al-Rashid who was a ruler of the Early Muslim conquests and it appears in the 9th century collection of stories One Thousand and One Nights. At the same time, it was noted during the Islamic reign of the Abbasid Empire that stretched from the Middle East/Asia to North Africa and Andalusia. 

The dish was used by nomadic Bedouin people of the Arabian Peninsula, who added dried fruits such as dates, apricots and plums to it. Tagine is traditionally cooked over hot charcoal with the shape of the lid acting as a self-basting tool. The circular base is flat with low sides and the cover is a large cone-shape that sits on the base during cooking. The cover is designed to collect all condensation and re-direct to back to the bottom.

It's a pretty amazing pot. I love that I put the lamb in the tagine, ran back to work for the afternoon, did a ton of errands with my older son, and when we came home, the lamb was so tender I could cut it with a spoon.

Coffee-Rubbed Lamb Tagine

Ingredients
  • 2 pounds boneless lamb (I had two roasts, butterflied)
  • 4 to 5 T finely ground coffee (I used a decaf, light roast bean)
  • 1 T sumac
  • 1 T smoked paprika
  • 1 T ground turmeric
  • 1 t + 1 T ground cinnamon
  • 1 t + 1 T ground coriander
  • 2 t ground vanilla bean powder
  • 1 t crushed Aleppo pepper
  • olive oil as needed
  • 2 onions, peeled and quartered
  • 1-1/2 C beef stock
  • 1-1/2 C red wine
  • 1 C brewed coffee (I used decaf)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • freshly ground salt, as needed
  • freshly ground pepper, as needed
  • mashed potatoes for serving


 Procedure
Sprinkle lamb with 1 t ground cinnamon and 1 t ground coriander and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. In a small mixing bowl blend all of your spices - ground coffee, sumac, smoked paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, vanilla bean powder, and crushed Aleppo pepper. Add in enough olive oil to create a thick paste. Massage the paste over the entire surface of the lamb, reserving 1 T of the paste.

Add a splash of olive oil to the bottom of the tagine. Brown the lamb on all sides over medium-high heat. Stir in the remaining spice paste and pour in the stock, wine, and coffee. Nestle the quartered onions, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean around the meat.

Bring to a boil, place the cover on the tagine, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 6 hours. The meat should be tender and cooked through. Every hour or so, you might want to ensure there is still enough liquid in the pan. If needed, add more stock or wine. Check occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. Stir, as needed. 


Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, spoon mashed potatoes on to individual serving plates. Top with lamb and the onions. serve immediately.

Find Seven Hills Winery
on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram
*Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of wine samples for recipe development and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.

Comments

  1. I love my Tagine and am always looking for new recipes to use it. I am so keeping this and making it. Can't wait to share it with you. Great pairing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love my Tagine and am always looking for new recipes to use it. I am so keeping this and making it. Can't wait to share it with you. Great pairing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have come close to buying a tagine so many times....I think the time has come! Your pairing sound amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow-that Lamb Tagine looks amazing!! I need to get one of those. Thank you for sharing! Delicious pairing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sheesh....now I'm gonna have to go out and get a Tagine.....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce