Lamb Tagine with Couscous

You are looking at a girl who is officially on summer break! I have been on summer break now for about 20 minutes and oh boy does the freedom feel good. Though, I'll be honest-- this quarter was about the easiest I've ever had in my life. So, this past 20 minutes hasn't felt too much different from this past week. Wes on the other hand has had a difficult quarter (as usual), with library books stacked to the ceiling and 20 page papers to boot. So, with finals week upon us he has been having study sessions, one of which being on Monday night. Monday night I was alone and had that strong desire around 3 in the afternoon to plan something delicious for dinner. Somehow I decided I wanted to fix lamb with couscous. I've only fixed lamb once before and that was of the lamb-meatball variety (which turned out very yummy if you're curious). So I searched through some lamb recipes and came across this perfect marriage of said ingredients. Lamb Tagine with Couscous, and boy-oh-boy is it a winner. If you don't like lamb I suggest substituting your favorite meat of choice because it really is a great recipe. If you are open to lamb I urge you to try it. So so flavorful and so easy to cook! You can view the recipe below or here at REAL SIMPLE.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds lamb loin, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots, peeled into thin strips
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• zest of 1/2 lemon, grated
• 1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 10-ounce box couscous
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the lamb, seal, and shake to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook for 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add some of the lamb to the pot and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining lamb. Return the lamb to the pot along with the onion and carrots. Add the garlic, ginger, and zest and stir.
4. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, parsley, and olives. Divide among individual plates.