A fruity goat tagine

By now you're probably aware how much I love goat meat. It's not eaten just in Greece, but all round the Med - I've never quite managed to erase the memory of the sight of a row of skinned kids' heads lined up on a butcher's stall when on a stroll through the Arab market in Jerusalem's walled old city. Their eyes were blue and, like the Mona Lisa's, they seemed to follow me as I walked past. Creepy eyes aside, I'm sure the heads were delicious when cooked.

No heads for needed for this recipe, just some diced shoulder. And don't be put off by the long list of ingredients - this is simplicity itself to make. It takes just 5-10 minutes to prep. Makes enough for two portions, so you can eat one and freeze one.

What you need:  
A good glug of olive oil
About 300g goat meat, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
About 3/4 pint chicken stock
1 orange, juiced and zested
Piece of cinnamon stick, about 3cm
Piece of fresh ginger, about 2cm, peeled and very finely chopped
Half a preserved lemon, finely sliced
Handful of pitted green olives
Handful of dried apricots
Handful of finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 dessert spoonfuls of ground almonds
About a dessert spoonful of flaked almonds
Seasoning
A little chopped coriander

What to do: 
Using a heavy sauteuse, brown the goat in the olive oil over a high heat then scoop it out and set aside while you fry off the onions and garlic in the same oil until translucent and giving off aroma. Return the meat to the pan and pour in the stock, plus the orange zest and juice, cinnamon stick, ginger, preserved lemon and green olives. Grind in some black pepper. Turn down the heat until it's just simmering and leave for about 2 hours. (You can transfer it to the oven if you prefer - about 160C.) Check on it occasionally and top up with boiling water if it looks like it might dry out.

After 2 hours, add the apricots, mint and ground almonds, stir through and let it cook for another half an hour or so. The meat should be tender by now and the juices thickened by the almonds. If the meat's not quite ready, just cook it a while longer - it won't spoil.

Season to taste, stir in the flaked almonds and scatter over the coriander then dish up with some cous-cous and a side salad of tomatoes, cucumber and mint dressed with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Cook's tips:
If you can't get goat meat, use mutton - it'll need about the same cooking time, but be sure to trim off the fat first. If you use lamb, it will only need about an hour to 90 minutes in total to cook.

Tagines are very flexible - if you don't have any apricots, use some dried figs or dates. Black olives can be used instead of green.

If you freeze a portion, do it before you add the flaked almonds and coriander.

Cous-cous doubles in size when it's ready so measure out about half of what you want to eat. Dump it in a heatproof bowl and cover with the same amount of boiling water. Put a plate over the bowl to trap the heat and steam and leave it for 5 minutes. It should have fluffed up - fork it through to break up the grains. If it looks too dry, add a little more water and leave for another minute or so (it's better to have too little water and top up than too much, which will make it soggy). If you have leftover cous-cous, cover it with cling film and chill in the fridge - it makes a good base for a salad.

Greek-style goat stew

If you've never eaten goat meat, you are missing a real treat. It has a wonderfully deep flavour that is similar to mutton, yet it is far leaner than anything butchered from a sheep or lamb. Like mutton, though, it requires long, slow cooking to get the best out of it - apart from the chops, which are best marinaded in olive and lemon juice before being grilled quickly over charcoal, goat meat can be tough if not treated with the time it needs.

Goat is eaten around most of the Mediterranean - aside from the ubiquitous chicken it may be the only native meat available, particularly in areas that are arid with inhospitable terrain where only goats can graze. It's harder to find in the UK, as goat herders tend to farm them for their milk rather than the meat - much of what is sold as Caribbean goat curry, for example, is in fact mutton.

This dish is common across Greece and its islands - in the tourist resorts it's more likely to be made with mutton, but on islands like Crete, which has little farmland, goat meat reigns supreme. It's quick to prepare but needs plenty of cooking time, so it's probably best made on a weekend.

What you need:
200g lean goat meat

1 onion, roughly chopped
4 large tomatoes
Tomato purée, a generous squeeze
Oregano
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Half a lemon, cut into quarters
A few baby aubergines, halved
Olive oil

What to do:
Trim any fat off the meat and dice it. Fry the onion gently in the olive oil until it's translucent. Turn up the heat, add the meat and brown it. Transfer to a casserole or slow cooker and add everything else. If you're using fresh oregano, you'll need a few sprigs otherwise a generous pinch of the dried variety will do the job. You can add a splash of red wine at this stage too.

If you're using an oven, it should be heated to around 130-140C, but at a pinch you could also cook it very gently in a heavy-based sauteuse on the stove top. Whatever you choose, it needs a good 3 hours. Check it occasionally to ensure it's not drying out - top up with hot water from a kettle if needed. Test the meat after 3 hours - it should be meltingly tender.

Cook's tips:  
The best place to find goat meat is in a market or butcher's shop in the kind of neighbourhood that has a large Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern population. It's quite likely to be sold on the bone though, so you'll need double the weight. Otherwise, try a farmer's market or buy it online - many goat farms have diversified from cheese and yoghurt and started selling the meat too, usually trimmed and diced. If you're struggling to find it, mutton is the best alternative.

The oregano is essential - it is the one herb that distinguishes Greek cuisine from other Mediterranean styles. 

You can use tinned chopped tomatoes instead of fresh. The acidity of the tomatoes helps to tenderise the meat, as does the lemon. The wine just helps the process as well as adding another note of flavour. This recipe provides 3 of your 5 a day - add a side salad if you want more.

In Greece, casseroled goat is usually served with rice or chips. I prefer rice as it soaks up the lovely rich sauce, which you could mop up with pitta or crusty bread.