Moroccan Tagine Pizza

Why This Moroccan Tagine Pizza Works

In the pan, the onion and garlic soften in the olive oil and lose their sharp bite. As the ground lamb cooks, it browns and firms up, and some of its fat melts out into the pan. That melted fat mixes with the spices, so the cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and turmeric spread all through the lamb instead of sitting in one spot. After a few minutes, the lamb is coated in that spiced fat and tastes seasoned in every bite.

On the flatbread, the lamb mixture sits in a fairly even layer, so the heat can reach it and the bread at the same time. In the oven, the flatbread dries a bit and turns crisp on the bottom while the lamb stays moist on top. The apricots soften and plump slightly from the heat, while the almonds toast and get crunchier. Feta warms and loosens but doesn’t melt away, so it stays in little pockets. Right at the end, the fresh cilantro goes on, staying bright and leafy against the rich, soft lamb and the crisp bread.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the lamb go into the oven still pale and underbrowned leaves a lot of moisture in the meat. In the oven that moisture steams instead of roasts, so the flatbread softens and the topping turns a bit soggy instead of slightly crisp and caramelized on top.

Cooking the lamb and onions on very high heat until dark brown or dry causes another problem. The fat renders out and the meat tightens up, so once baked again on the pizza it turns tough and chewy and the whole topping feels greasy instead of juicy.

Adding the dried apricots to the pan with the lamb instead of scattering them on top before baking makes them swell and break down too much. They lose their chewy bite and can blend into the meat, so the finished pizza ends up with a mushy layer instead of little sweet, soft pieces.

Putting the cilantro on before baking instead of after makes it shrivel and turn dull. The leaves dry out in the oven and go a bit bitter, so the pizza comes out without that fresh, bright finish on top.