Spicy Rabbit Tagine with Almonds & Apricots

Rabbit leg tagine with peppers, apricots and almonds gets a wonderful spicy hit from harissa and is fragrant with ras el hanout and sumac.

This recipe is wonderfully simple to cook, and you spend most of the 75-minute cooking time with your feet up waiting for dinner to be ready!

Moroccan-Influenced Rabbit Stew

I love North African flavours and, in particular, the flavours you get from gently cooking ingredients in a tightly sealed pot.

I also love cooking and eating rabbit, whether it is spicy or much more traditional, as in this rabbit cacciatore!

As a meat, it benefits greatly from gentle cooking techniques; as a result, this rabbit tagine ticks a whole load of boxes.

It combines the sweetness of dried apricots and peppers with spicy harissa and the almost tart flavour of sumac.

As with all rabbit recipes on my site, this recipe is developed with farmed rabbit in mind. If you are new to cooking with rabbit, it is a simple and safe place to start.

Cooking with wild meat takes a little experience, but this recipe takes out all of the guesswork. It is essentially a foolproof dinner!

If this recipe gets your juices going, then check out some of my other rabbit recipes: classic rabbit stew, braised rabbit leg with Leeks and Carrots, Instant Pot rabbit ragu, and traditional paella Valenciana with Rabbit and Chicken.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cook this in a tagine pot?

Yes, but on the proviso that you have a tagine that is large enough to hold the rabbit legs.

I cook most of my tagine recipes in a 20cm or 8" tagine, which is perfectly sized for creating a meal for two. However, unlike my duck leg tagine and chicken leg tagine, rabbit legs are just a little too large to fit in.

Larger tagines tend to be a little deeper, and as a result, you will need to add more vegetables (and liquid) to create the base to steam the meat over.

Can I use other cuts of rabbit?

I would avoid using the loin of rabbit because it is very tender and lean and can dry out very quickly.

What is rose harissa?

Rose harissa is a spicy North African pepper paste that, as the name suggests, contains either rose water or rose petals (or usually a combination of both).

It's delicious and adds a wonderfully floral/perfume tone to recipes that it is used in. I use a brand called Belazu, but you can swap it out for any harissa paste if those floral tones are not for you.

What is sumac?

Sumac is the dried and ground “fruit” of the sumac plant. It has a delicious tart flavour that is almost like a cross between lemon and vinegar.

It can be used as both an ingredient and a finishing seasoning.

Serving Suggestions

As far as I am concerned, this recipe needs a relatively neutral side dish aimed at spreading all that delicious flavour!

I serve this version with herbed bulgur wheat that has a squeeze of lemon added.

It would work equally well with buttered couscous, again with a squeeze of lemon juice.

I adore this dish with potatoes, some well-salted fried potatoes work great, as do batata harra, spicy Lebanese potatoes!

But it would also work with a simple garden salad as a side, too!

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/stovetop.
• 28cm or 11" frying pan with a lid.
• Small mixing bowl.
• Stirring and serving spoons.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring spoons and cups.