Moroccan Lamb Shoulder and Artichoke Pasta: A Feast with Minimal Effort

Artichokes and peas, seasoned with garlic, ground ginger and turmeric, create a surprising sauce for pasta. A slow-cooked Moroccan-spiced lamb shoulder with a fruity salsa completes the feast. Chef Nargisse Benkabbou grew up in a home full of family and friends. That meant many people to feed. For special occasions that required little effort, her mother served a roast lamb shoulder. Roasts, she notes, follow a concept similar to traybakes: combine main ingredients in a tin, and let the oven do the work. In Morocco, *méchoui* can mean grilled or roast dishes. For lamb shoulder, it usually means roasted. Benkabbou also offers her take on a traditional artichoke and pea tagine, a popular spring dish. In Moroccan homes, tagines are served simply with bread, without sides. But she found that some make excellent sauces for pasta.