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We lunched out today, Wendi cheering up after her dreadful hangover from last night's romancing malt whisky, so it was lovely seeing her smile again! And she smiled even more when at our favourite little bistro, saw lamb and rice tagine with dried cherries chalked up on the blackboard followed by classique crème caramel with free coffee afterwards, a standard 'Plat du Jour' for just €10.90 and enough to feed a soldier.

We loved the generous main course, but when I asked the Monegasque proprietor if he could give me the recipe, he shook her head. "Non. Family recipe!" OK fair enough, so I changed tack and asked, was the spice mix Ras el Hanout? He said "Oui." Oh well, I tried poking the grumpy pig with a bit more cheek, only to feel someone kicking my leg beneath the table. Sometimes you can't win 'em all!

Later at home I searched and searched until I found what was almost exactly the same recipe. Lamb and rice tagine with dried cherries from Master Cook .Ras el Hanout can be bought from supermarkets, but for a piddly small container it's not cheap. It's easy making it yourself, and here's a popular recipe from
BBC Good Food .

Instead of buying an expensive tagine, make it in a large pan with a lid. If the lid is wobbly, line it with tinfoil, scrunching round the edges for a good fit. (You can also boil rice on a very low flame with the same method)

I guarantee you this lamb tagine recipe works great using a big saucepan. And because we loved it so much today, it's doing on the hob as I write. We'll likely have it tomorrow evening. It will taste twice as good by then.

A 150g bag of dried cherries cost €2.99 here which means you'll have enough for another lamb and dried cherry tagine.

It's a hearty meal for chilly days. Right now the aroma wafting from the kitchen is divine.